The Last Straw
by Teniromo
Summary: This takes place directly after Cloud finds Denzel outside Aerith's church. However, once Cloud discovers the orphan has Geostigma, he's reluctant to let him stay at 7th Heaven since he knows what Denzel's fate will eventually be. Cloud keeps his distance from the quiet boy and implores Tifa to not get attached to him. (Doesn't follow "On The Way to A Smile")
1. Chapter 1

Hey, so this is Teni.

Been playing around with this idea for awhile:

What if Cloud wasn't so willing to take in Denzel, especially knowing the orphan has Geostigma? How long could he try to keep his distance form the boy?

Don't know how long it's going to be, but I think there's a lot to pull from and go off on. Hope you enjoy!

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Cloud sighed as he put his phone in his back pocket. "Tifa said to take you home, kid." He lifted the boy onto the back of Fenrir and got on himself, putting his goggles in place. "Grab on." He ordered as he readied to hit the throttle. At first Cloud didn't feel the boy move, but then, too weak and in too much pain to do much else, the boy just collapsed forward onto Cloud's back. Cloud turned, seeing the kid's face contorted with a silent pain. Turning back, he grabbed the boy's hand and brought it forward. He noticed the small hand shaking and heard pained whimpers coming from the boy. Cloud squeezed the boy's hand to steady the shaking and hit the throttle.

When Cloud stopped in front of _7_ _th_ _Heaven_ , Tifa was waiting on the steps with concern on her face. Cloud got off Fenrir and took the boy into his arms. "He's not doing too well. Severely dehydrated." He informed her as he walked into the bar, Tifa following close behind.

"Has he said anything?" she asked as Cloud brought the boy up the stairs and into Marlene's room.

"No." Cloud shook his head as he gently lowered the boy into the spare bed. "Not a word."

Tifa looked down at the boy. "He's skin and bones." Cloud took a good look at the boy also, seeing his clammy skin, his sandy hair matted with sweat. "What was he doing in Sector Seven?" the boy coughed painfully. "I'm going to get him some water." And Tifa left the room. As he waited for her return, Cloud stared at the boy. What _was_ he doing in Old Shinrah? It wasn't a place for civilians, especially children. The way in was blocked. Only Cloud knew the secret passages to get in and out. To go to the place where it all happened. Where she…

The boy flinched and moaned in pain. Instinctively, Cloud brushed the hair out of the boy's face to soothe him, but then retracted his hand quickly. Black puss oozed out of scabs on the boy's forehead. Cloud froze. The Stigma. The boy was infected.

Tifa entered the room again, a glass of water in one hand and a bread roll in the other. She set the glass on the nightstand and started to cut the bread. "I have some bread too in case he's hungry, which he probably is considering-"

"Tifa."

"What?" Tifa looked up from what she was doing only to see Cloud staring down at the boy, his face pale. Cloud knew the moment she saw it, because her whole body went rigid. Cloud looked up at her to see her mouth hanging open slightly. Cloud sighed, then turned to leave the room. "Cloud." Tifa said quietly, but Cloud ignored her and entered his office, which had also been serving as his bedroom since they took in Marlene for Barrett. Cloud's bedroom was now occupied by Tifa, using her room for Marlene. "Cloud, wait." Tifa called and he heard her footfalls close behind him.

"He can't stay, Tifa." Cloud declared the moment she entered the room. Cloud tossed his keys onto his desk and busied himself with sorting through delivery orders.

"And why the hell not?" she asked as she closed the door until a small sliver of light shown through.

"You saw it. He has the Stigma. We can't take care of him."

"Sure we can."

"Tifa." Abandoning his efforts, Cloud finally turned to see her standing with her arms crossed over her chest in defiance. "He's infected. He could give us all the Stigma."

"The Stigma isn't contagious like that, Cloud."

"You know what's going to happen. There isn't a cure. You'll just get attached to him, Marlene will get attached to him, and then he'll die. Do you really want to put yourself through that? Do you really want to put _Marlene_ through that?"

"He isn't some stray dog we found on the street, Cloud! He's a child-"

"He's going to die." Cloud deadpanned.

Tifa opened her mouth to make some retort, but she shut it, realizing the truth of the situation. Cloud could see the tears starting to form in her eyes, and Cloud looked down, regretting the blunt way he had put it. He hated hurting Tifa because he knew it was so hard to do, yet he was the only one who managed to do it.

 _No. She needs to understand the kid can't be nursed back to health._ He told himself.

Tifa sighed, looking up at the ceiling to gather herself, and then looked back at Cloud. "So what's your solution, Cloud?" she asked, her voice thick with emotion. "Just turn him out onto the street so he can die in some gutter alone?" Cloud turned away from her before she could see him flinch at the image his mind conjured of the boy laying on the ground, motionless, in some alley of Midgar.

"He's not our responsibility." He said quietly.

Tifa shook her head automatically. "No. I know you. You're not that cruel."

"Tifa-" he turned back to her to argue.

"No, Cloud! We're not going to do that to him, so just forget it!" Tifa declared angrily.

Cloud sighed, his jaw flexing and releasing. "Well then leave me out of it." He ordered, and snatching his keys, he brushed past her.

"Where are you going?" Tifa asked annoyed.

"To make a delivery." And Cloud flung the door open and left her there. Tifa looked up at the ceiling and sighed. _One battle at a time._ She told herself. She heard him make his way down the stairs and in a few seconds she could hear him speed away on Fenrir.

When Tifa entered Marlene's room, she saw the boy looking at her, fear on his face. "Hey." Tifa said soothingly. "How are you feeling?" The boy didn't answer. Tifa grabbed the glass of water on the nightstand and held it out to him. "Here." The boy snatched it out of her hands and started guzzling the glass of water. He downed it in only a few seconds. Tifa took the empty glass from him and moved to brush the hair out of the boy's face, but he quickly moved away from her. "It's okay. We talked on the phone, remember?" Confusion entered the boy's face, and then his eyes widened slightly in realization. "You called me using Cloud's phone." Tifa added. "I'm Tifa."

The boy looked down, almost in disappointment, but didn't say anything. "What's your name?" No reply. "Well you have to have a name." she continued, but the boy looked at her with apprehension still apparent on his face.

"Well where are you from?" Tifa pressed on. "You have half the city's dirt on you, so I know you've been places." She smiled as she looked at the boy's dirty clothes. The boy still didn't say anything. "I'm sure a nice bath would remedy that, huh?" Tifa smiled wider. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up." And Tifa slowly moved to lift the boy. He moved away from her, and Tifa stopped. "It's alright. You're safe, I promise. I'm going to take care of you." The boy hesitated, then stilled. Tifa slowly reached out to him again and he let her lift him into her arms.

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So that's it so far. Kind of a short chapter, but I'll add quite a bit more. Let me know what you though of it or what you would really like to see from this. Suggestions are welcome if you want to add any. Hope you enjoyed.

-Teni


	2. Chapter 2

Hey, it's Teni.

So here's the second chapter to this. I'm so glad people have already reviewed saying they really enjoy this story. I hope you keep enjoying it! Let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions of what you want to see come out of this. These chapters aren't going to be very long, maybe a little more than 1,500 words per chapter, but I hope you like them all the same. Thanks for the support!

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"Tifa, I'm home!" Marlene called as she opened the door to the _7th Heaven_.

"Hi, Sweety! How was your day at school?" Tifa asked as she moved in front of the bar counter and walked towards Marlene.

"Good. I got to write on the board today and we got to draw pictures of our favorite animals and I…" Marlene stopped talking as she saw a boy in baggy clothes sitting on one of the bar stools. They made eye contact and the boy quickly looked away. "Who's that?" Marlene asked Tifa quietly. "And why is he wearing Cloud's clothes?"

"We have someone new staying with us for awhile." Tifa told her, and then she brought the girl to stand in front of the boy, whose eyes nervously flickered to her and then back to the plate of uneaten food in front of him. "This is Marlene, who I was telling you about." Tifa told the boy. "Marlene, this is….well, he's going to be staying with us for a while. He's going to be sharing your room." Marlene walked up to the boy and sat on the bar stool next to him.

"What's your name?" she asked. The boy just looked down at his plate of chicken he barely touched and didn't say anything. "Do you go to school?" Marlene pressed as she leaned forward to try and see the boy's face, but he just turned his head the opposite way. "Don't you talk at all?" she asked, only leaning even more forward. The boy refused to look at her. Tifa could see the shyness and slight fear on the boy's face.

"He doesn't talk very much, Marlene." Tifa placed her hands on Marlene's shoulders to pull her away from leaning into the boy's face. "Here's your snack." And Tifa reached for a fruit bar on the other side of the counter to place it in front of Marlene. The little girl munched happily on the bar as she swung her feet back and forth. Tifa went back to polishing and setting out the glasses for the night from her spot behind the counter.

The sound of the back door opening came soon after Marlene finished her fruit bar. "Cloud's home!" Marlene exclaimed, and she hopped off the bar stool while Tifa kept her eyes on her work. The boy remained motionless and continued to stare at his hardly touched plate. Marlene ran to the back door as Cloud closed it behind him. "Cloud!" she exclaimed, and Cloud smiled softly at her.

"Hey, Marlene. How was school?" following closely behind Cloud, Marlene immediately went off into a story about her day as they entered the bar area. The ghost of a smile on his face from listening to Marlene fire off her story was wiped away almost immediately when Cloud saw the boy sitting at the bar wearing one of his old shirts and a pair of paint-splattered shorts. The boy quickly looked down at his food after being caught looking, and Marlene slowly stopped talking as she saw Cloud's expression change. She followed his gaze to the boy and looked back at Cloud.

"Cloud?" Marlene questioned innocently. Tifa looked at Cloud as she polished a glass in her hands with a rag waiting for what he would do. Cloud looked at Tifa, back to the boy, set his jaw, and walked towards the stairs without a word. Marlene looked after him, and Tifa just sighed quietly as she went back to setting out glasses.

"What's wrong with Cloud?" Marlene asked.

"Marlene, it's almost time to go upstairs. How about you grab the games you want from the closet and then head on up?" Tifa suggested.

"Okay." Marlene said, a little discouraged, and she went into the back room.

Tifa turned to the boy still sitting at the bar, taking note of his hardly touched plate. "Aren't you hungry?" she asked as she finished setting out the glasses and flipped the towel across her shoulder. The boy was ever-silent. "Is there something wrong with it? Do you not like chicken?" Tifa had never known someone who didn't like chicken and rice. It wasn't like she was trying to give him Brussel sprouts. Tifa leaned on the counter in front of the boy. "Well I can't know what to cook you unless you tell me what you like."

He said nothing.

"I know you can talk. You talked to me on Cloud's phone yesterday, so you aren't fooling me." She teased him. The boy's eyes flickered to her, but then moved back down to his hands in his lap. "Look," Tifa started quietly. "I know a lot's happened to you, but that's all behind you now. I promise. We're going to take care of you."

Silence.

"Won't you tell me your name?"

Nothing.

Tifa sighed, then, brushing a strand of hair from his black forehead, she stood up. "Cloud and I run the bar here at night. We have Marlene stay upstairs while we do. The bar isn't really a place for children. It opens up in a few minutes, so you should probably head upstairs too."

Wordlessly, the boy slid off the bar stool and moved towards the stairs. "I'll be up to check on you when it's time for bed." Tifa called after him as she removed the full plate from the counter.

"Knock knock." Tifa said as she opened the door to Marlene's room. Marlene was sitting on the floor brushing her doll's hair while the boy sat on the bed looking at his hands. "All ready for bed?"

"Uh-huh!" Marlene nodded as she scampered up into her bed and under the covers with her doll. "Tibby's ready for bed too!"

Tifa smiled as she looked from Marlene to the boy. "I set out a toothbrush for you in the bathroom if you want to brush your teeth before going to bed." The boy wordlessly moved from sitting on the bed and kept his eyes down as he moved passed Tifa to the bathroom. Marlene looked up at Tifa with a troubled look, but Tifa just smiled sadly at her and sat on the edge of her bed. "Are you warm enough? It's going to be cold tonight." Marlene nodded as she snuggled Tibby closer, but then turned her big eyes onto Tifa.

"Is he okay?" Marlene asked quietly.

Tifa considered how much to tell Marlene. "He's not feeling so good, Marlene. He hasn't eaten in a few days, and he's just tired."

"Too tired to talk?"

"He didn't say anything while you were up here?" Tifa questioned, and Marlene shook her head. Tifa sighed. "I guess he's a little sad. Sometimes when people are sad, they don't like to talk about it. But it's important to be extra kind to people when they're sad, so just keep on trying with him, okay?"

Marlene nodded. Just then, the boy entered the room again after quickly brushing his teeth. He climbed under the covers and pulled the quilt up almost passed his head. Tifa turned back to Marlene.

"Alright. Sweet dreams, Sweety." Tifa kissed Marlene on the forehead.

Marlene moved quickly and wrapped her arms around Tifa's neck in a hug. "Do you think he'll be this sad tomorrow?" Marlene whispered into her ear. Tifa pulled back, confused, then seeing Marlene's eyes shift to the boy in the other bed, Tifa shrugged.

"We'll see. I hope not." She said quietly as she still hugged the girl. "We're just going to have to do what we can to brighten his spirits. Cloud's too. Okay?"

Marlene nodded as she let go of Tifa to lay back down. Tifa stood up and noticed the boy's old clothes resting in a pile on the chair in the corner.

"Those clothes look pretty worn, don't you think?" Tifa asked the boy, who peeked out from under the covers. "Do you mind if I throw them away? I'll have better clothes for you tomorrow." She waited for his response. After a moment, the boy slowly nodded. Relieved that he actually responded to one of her questions, Tifa gathered the tattered and worn clothes into her arms. "Goodnight you two, sweet dreams." Tifa flicked off the light.

"Good night, Tifa." Marlene replied, and Tifa pulled the door until it was almost closed to dull the sounds of loud talking and laughter coming from the bar downstairs. Tifa was about to go down the stairs when she heard quick footsteps hurry into the hallway from the children's room. Turning around, Tifa was suddenly met with the boy grabbing at the pair of pants in her arms.

"Hey!" Tifa tried to hold onto the clothing as he tore through the pockets of the pants. He finally retrieved something from one of them and stowed it in the pocket of the shorts he was wearing. Before Tifa could question what it was, the boy hurried as fast as his skinny body could take him back to the door and slipped back into the dark room. Taken aback at the abruptness of what just happened, Tifa slowly moved down the stairs wondering what could have been in the pocket to bring about the look of desperation and fear she saw flash on the boy's face.

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So that's Chapter 2! Hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you liked and what you want to see more of. Thanks for the support. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter in a few days or so.

-Teni


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! It's Teni. So here's Chapter 3. Ideas for this just kept swirling around in my head, so I figured I'd just keep cranking them out until I can't procrastinate my essay I have to write for tomorrow anymore. (Why do I always do this to myself?) I do have finals coming up next week, so I don't know how often I'll be able to post these until those are done.

Anyway, I'm really liking where this story is going, and I hope you do too. Reviews and suggestions are always appreciated! Hope you enjoy!

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"Tifa!" she heard in the depths of sleep. "Tifa!" There was a vigorous shaking on her arm and Tifa's eyes flew open.

Tifa sat up immediately to see Marlene standing by her bed, Tibby in her arms, and her eyes full of panic. "What? What is it?" she asked as she gathered her surroundings.

"Something's wrong. Come quick!" Marlene whispered as she pulled on Tifa's hand. Tifa got out of bed, her bare feet touching the cold hardwood floor, and followed Marlene quickly into her room. Tifa entered the room to hear a pained moaning coming from the second bed where the boy slept. Tifa turned on the light to see the boy curled up into a ball clutching his forehead, his eyes screwed shut. Tifa hurried to his side and knelt down in front of him.

"Let me see." Tifa said as she gently grabbed the boy's hands. The boy only moaned louder in pain and shook. "Come on, let me see." And Tifa pulled his hands away more forcefully to see a black puss oozing out of the mark on his forehead. It dripped down his face and onto the sheets. His hands were covered in it. "Marlene, get me a towel." Tifa said over her shoulder as she tried to get a better look at the mark, but she heard no movement behind her. Tifa looked over her shoulder to see Marlene rooted on the spot in the doorway. Her large doe eyes were fixed on the black ooze coming from the boy's head. Her face was pale and she clutched her doll so hard her knuckles were white. "Marlene!" Tifa said to her, but the girl wouldn't snap out of it. Tifa turned back to the boy when he let out a cry of pain and his body spasmed. Tears streamed down his face and mixed with the black ooze. "Shhh." She tried to soothe him. "It's alright. You're okay. I'm right here."

"Here." She heard a voice from behind and a towel was suddenly in front of her. Tifa looked at the hand holding it, then up at Cloud who was standing over her in his night shirt and pants, his hair as ruffled as ever and his eyes tired with sleep, but alert. Tifa grabbed the towel from his hand and put it under the boy's head. She used the corner to gently dab at the ooze still coming from his forehead.

"Thank you." She murmured to Cloud quietly.

"I'm going to take Marlene downstairs." He replied and she heard him move. "Come on, Marlene." She heard him usher the girl out of the room and down the stairs.

Tifa spent the next two hours trying to soothe the boy as his pain continued and the black ooze slowly but constantly seeped out of his forehead. Cloud came up once or twice to check if Tifa needed anything, but he didn't stick around. According to him, after a few distraught minutes of crying, Marlene had fallen asleep on the couch downstairs.

The oozing did finally stop, and the boy finally quieted as his body relaxed slightly from its rigid state. Tifa wiped away the black puss from his body with a wet cloth; it had gotten everywhere. She moved him onto the window seat with the towel still underneath him so she could clean up the mess. She changed the sheets on his bed, cleaned up the floor, changed his clothes while throwing out the old, and finally got him back into bed. By the time the whole endeavor was over, the boy's face was ghostly pale and sweaty and the first rays of light were bleeding through the dark curtains. "Try to get some sleep." She whispered to the boy as she pulled the covers over him. The boy could barely keep his eyes open anymore. Tifa turned off the light and closed the door most of the way before heading into the bathroom and cleaning herself off as well.

When she was done, Tifa made her way downstairs to see Marlene curled up on the couch with Tibby in her arms and asleep. Cloud was sitting at the bar, his head in his hands tiredly. He looked up when Tifa walked in. "He's finally asleep." She said as she went to the tap to get a glass of water.

Cloud said nothing for a moment as Tifa drank her water, but once she was done he spoke.

"He's only going to get worse."

She nodded after a moment. "I know."

"It's already at an advanced stage. At this rate, he doesn't have much longer than a few weeks at most."

Tifa didn't say anything as she gently set the empty glass in the sink.

"We can send him to an orphanage." Cloud suggested. "They can take care of him there."

"No orphanage will ever accept a kid with the Stigma."

"A hospital then?"

"Midgar Hospital stopped taking in Geostigma cases weeks ago because of overcrowding." Tifa turned and leaned back against the counter.

Cloud sighed. "You can't handle this, Tifa." He looked her straight in the eye. "He can't stay here."

Tifa shook her head immediately. "We can't do that, Cloud. We took him into our home. Could you really live with yourself if we just threw a dying child onto the street?"

Cloud was quiet for a moment, but finally answered, "This boy isn't our responsibility."

"Then whose responsibility is he? His parents? Because I'm pretty sure he doesn't have those anymore." Cloud looked down at table preoccupying himself with tracing the scratch there with his finger.

"Please don't send him away." A small voice came from the doorway. Cloud's head snapped up and Tifa whipped around to see Marlene standing in the doorway with Tibby in her arms. Her eyes were glassy orbs from the tears threatening to fall. They moved between Tifa and Cloud, who was slowly rising from his chair. "Please don't make him leave just because he's sick."

"Marlene." Tifa placed her hands on the girl's shoulders to move her out of the kitchen. "Go back to the living room. I'll be there in a minute."

"No!" Marlene pushed Tifa's hands off her shoulders and turned to face them. "You can't send him away!"

"Marlene-" Cloud tried to intervene.

"You said he was sick. You said he couldn't stay here because of that!" she turned to Cloud as her voice rose. "Please don't send him away!".

"No one is sending him away." Tifa knelt down in front of the girl and quieted her.

"I'll take care of him." Marlene declared as the tears spilled from her eyes. "We can give him medicine. He'll get better. He won't be sick anymore and he won't be sad and he'll talk and-!"

"He's very sick, Marlene." Cloud stated as he moved towards her and knelt down in front of her next to Tifa. "Medicine won't help him. He's only going to get worse." Marlene clutched Tibby tighter as more tears fell. "He has Geostigma." Cloud told her.

"Cloud!" Tifa hissed at him, furious he would tell a six-year-old that.

Marlene's eyes were afraid for a moment, but the fear morphed into defiance. "If _I_ had Geostigma would you send _me_ away?" she asked.

Cloud was taken aback by the question. "Of course not."

"Then you can't send him away! You _can't_ Cloud!" and with that, Marlene ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs despite Tifa calling after her. Cloud was still kneeling on the ground still amazed he had just been scolded by a six-year-old.

* * *

I really love Marlene. She's only 6 in Advent Children, but still a great source of truth and purity and all things good. I know we're still referring to Denzel as "the boy." Don't worry, Cloud and Tifa will know his name soon. Until next time!

-Teni


	4. Chapter 4

Aaaaaaand here's Chapter 4! Ok, this is my last one for tonight. I seriously need to crank out this essay, hopefully as fast as I've been cranking out these chapters. Thanks for reading, as always, and hope you enjoy!

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Cloud knocked on Marlene's door as he stood in the doorway. Marlene sat on the hardwood floor cross-legged as she dressed one of her dolls. "Marlene?" Cloud asked. "Can I come in?" The girl turned away from him. He entered the room anyway with his heavy footsteps. Cloud took a seat on her bed and waited for her to talk to him, but she just kept playing with her doll like he wasn't there.

Tifa was at the store with the kid buying him clothes that actually fit him. He had woken up a few hours after that episode. Tifa had asked if he was okay with going to the store with her, and he nodded despite his tiredness. Cloud agreed to stay in _7_ _th_ _Heaven_ to be there when Marlene got back from school. It was just Marlene and him there. "Did you finish your homework?" Cloud asked her after a minute.

She ignored him.

"Hey." Cloud warned. "I'm talking to you."

"Are you going to send me away if I didn't?" Marlene questioned with just as much annoyance in her voice.

"No one's being sent away, Marlene." Cloud sighed.

"You're sending _him_ away."

"No, I'm not."

"You said so. You said you were going to send him away because he was sick."

"It's more complicated than that, Marlene." Cloud told her.

"But you still want to send him away."

Cloud said nothing.

'Has he done something wrong?" Marlene asked. "Is that why you want to send him away?"

"I just want to protect you and Tifa."

Marlene finally looked at Cloud. "Protect us?"

Cloud nodded. "That's right."

"Protect us from what?"

Cloud leaned forward resting his forearms on his thighs. "Do you remember how sad it was when…" Cloud closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. "when Aerith returned to the Lifestream?" Marlene looked down at the ground and nodded. She remembered very well. "Well this boy, he's very sick. And pretty soon he's going to go back to the Lifestream too because of it. And when that happens it'll be very sad."

Marlene looked back up at Cloud.

"I don't ever want you or Tifa to be that sad again. Do you understand?"

The little girl looked back at the floor in consideration, then looked back up at Cloud. "But Cloud," she thought hard about what she was going to say. "We can't just send someone away because we're afraid they'll make us sad." Marlene got up off the floor to stand in front of Cloud. "Daddy says that when we're sad about people who are gone it should remind us how much we love them too." Cloud blinked at the girl's words. "I get sad sometimes about Daddy not being here," Marlene admitted, "but I remember that it's because I love him so much. I would rather have that than not love him at all."

Marlene took a step forward and touched the wolf buckle on Cloud's shoulder. She traced the outline of the mouth, her eyes fixed on it. "If we're sad when he dies, it'll be because we loved him, right?" her large brown eyes moved up to Cloud's blue ones as she still played with his shoulder buckle.

Cloud considered the girl in front of him who possessed wisdom beyond her years. He looked at her hopeful face and sighed. "Yeah." Cloud agreed, and he pulled Marlene into a one armed hug.

"So you aren't going to send him away?" Marlene asked hopefully. Cloud shook his head. "You promise?" she tested.

Cloud smirked. "I promise."

A smile broke over Marlene's face and she threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you!" she whispered into his ear, and then gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"You aren't mad at me anymore?" Cloud pulled back to look at her. She shook her head as she smiled. "You sure?" Marlene giggled as she nodded. "Alright. Did you do your homework?" Cloud went back to his original question.

Marlene thought for a moment. "No." she answered confidently.

"You better get it done before Tifa gets back." He warned. "She told you to do it, didn't she?"

"I will." Marlene promised.

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Now." He ordered, and he stood up from the bed and marched Marlene downstairs to do her homework as she pouted halfheartedly.

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Tifa hurriedly opened the back door to the bar and let the mute boy go in first. She kicked the door shut and quickly took her coat off. There had been a protest going on in the street that had made it difficult to maneuver the crowds. At one point she was terrified she had lost the boy, but he appeared at her side after she whipped around a few times after losing track of him. She had been so scared. She didn't even have a name to call out in her fright.

The protest had made them late getting back, and they didn't walk into 7th Heaven until it was half an hour before the bar opened. Stressing about this, Tifa handed the boy the bag of new clothes she had bought for him. "Can you take these up into your room? I'll be up in awhile to clear out some of Marlene's drawers so you can put those in them." As wordlessly as ever, the boy obeyed and slowly made his way up the stairs with the clothes.

Tifa hurried into the kitchen to start setting up for the bar only to find all the drinks and mixers already set out on the counter. Tifa turned to the bar counter to see Cloud behind it setting out the last of the stacks of glasses. Marlene was sitting at one of the bar stools working on her homework. "Hey." She greeted as she grabbed her smock hanging on the hook by the doorway into the kitchen. "You set up already?"

"Mm-hmm." Cloud nodded. "I figured you were running late."

"There was this protest on 4th street. We got held up."

"Protest for what?" Cloud asked.

"Who knows?" Tifa rolled her eyes. "We didn't exactly stick around to find out. They were blocking off most of the street."

"I'm sure there'll be talk about it tonight." Cloud finished setting out the glasses.

"Marlene, did you finish your homework?" Tifa asked as she started cleaning up Marlene's coloring books scattered on the bar from earlier in the day.

"Almost." Marlene concentrated on her homework.

"Well can you finish it upstairs, Sweetie? We're about to open." Tifa asked as she opened up the shades.

"Sure." Marlene hopped off from the bar stool and stuffed her homework into the backpack beside her.

"Oh, and can you clear out some of your drawers so the-he can put his clothes away?" Tifa struggled to not call him any other name but "the boy." He really needed to tell them his name soon.

"Uh-huh." Marlene called as she climbed the stairs just as Tifa switched on the lights for the sign outside. Cloud closed the door leading up the stairs and went into the kitchen to turn on the burners.

Just half an hour after opening the bar was buzzing with people. Men and women were laughing and drinking and talking loudly. Cloud made the food as Tifa mixed and filled the drinks. Like Cloud predicted, some of the talk in the bar was about the protest that afternoon. According to some of the regulars, the protest was about Geostigma. Cloud didn't catch much of the conversations since he was constantly moving back and forth from the kitchen to the bar serving food, but apparently the protestors were demanding quarantine for anyone afflicted with the Stigma.

This worried Cloud. What if the customers found out they were housing a boy with Geostigma? Would they lose business? Would regulars stop coming in because they didn't want their food and drinks prepared by people "exposed" to the sickness? No one knew how the Stigma spread, but it didn't seem to spread through contact with others. That didn't stop people from avoiding those with Geostigma and treating them like dirt when they did cross paths.

Cloud was pulled from his thoughts when he heard his name called. "Cloud!" Tifa's voice came from the bar. He turned around to see her standing halfway in the doorway. Cloud gave her a questioning look, then saw Marlene clutching Tifa's hand. Her face had the same fear it did last night when the boy was…

Cloud looked back up to Tifa. "I need to go upstairs." She spoke with weighted words. "Can you handle things?" she asked she half opened the door leading upstairs, her eyes hurried for his reply.

Cloud gave her a nod and watched her rush upstairs with Marlene in tow. He went over to the door to close it and could hear the boy's moans of pain as Tifa tried to comfort him. Cloud closed the door quietly.

"Everything ok there, Cloud?" one of the regulars asked. "Tifa looked kind of worried."

"Marlene's not feeling well, is all." Cloud lied easily as he started making drinks in Tifa's place.

"Oh, that's too bad." The man said he then straightened up. "She doesn't have that Stigma, does she?"

"No." Cloud shook his head. "Nothing like that."

"Well that's good." He nodded as he relaxed again. "It's unfortunate, isn't it? All those kids getting sick? I heard the hospitals here aren't taking in anymore Stigma cases."

"I heard that too." Another regular joined in as he took a swig of his drink. "Let me tell you, they should have done it sooner. Those kids are just spreading that plague to other people. They should all be shipped off to a quarantine if you ask me."

"Hold on, Harold." The first reasoned. "Doctors don't know how it spreads."

"All the more reason to get them out of Edge." The one named Harold insisted. "Just get rid of them. There's no help for them anyway. They're as good as dead."

"Those are people's kids your talking about, Harold." The first said quietly.

"Then they should be taking care of them instead of letting them wander the streets like they do."

"I hear most kids afflicted with Geostigma are orphans." A third person chimed in. "They don't have anyone to look after them."

Harold sighed. "Then they should just ship them off like I told yah. Just round them all up and send 'em packing. They can't stay here. Just send them away."

Cloud moved away from to conversation to fill another order. He didn't want to hear any of it anymore.

Tifa came back down an hour later. She looked exhausted, but quickly hid it as she closed the door behind her. She went into the kitchen to fill an order and Cloud followed her to grab a mixer he was out of. "How is he?" Cloud asked quietly as he opened a cabinet to grab what he needed.

"He's sleeping." She informed him as she put a meat patty on the grill. "He still won't eat anything." She shook her head.

"He'll eat when he's hungry."

"That's just it, Cloud." Tifa turned to face him. "He's barely eaten anything since he got here. He just picks at things." She sighed. "It's like he's already given up." Her voice broke on the last word and Cloud looked up at her. She had tears in her eyes, but she was attempting blinking them away. "Anyway," Tifa shrugged as she put another burger on the grill. "Marlene told me that you said you weren't going to make him leave."

Cloud didn't say anything as he leaned against the counter. Tifa looked up at Cloud. "Thank you." She said sincerely. "I know you didn't want this."

Cloud shook his head. "It's not that at all." And he grabbed the spatula from Tifa to flip the burgers. "We've just lost so many people. I wasn't sure if I could handle losing anyone else. Even if I barely knew them." Tifa was silent as Cloud spoke. It was only on rare occasions Cloud opened up like this, and she'd be damned if she was going to interrupt him now. "I still don't know if I'd be able to." He confessed as he stilled. Cloud was lost in the thought before he shook it off and continued flipping burgers. "But I'd rather he be here than out on the streets." He looked up at Tifa, who had even more tears in her eyes threatening to spill over.

She pulled Cloud into a hug. "Thank you." She whispered to him. "Truly."

"Hey, Tifa!" one of the customers shouted over the counter. "I need a refill here, if you don't mind."

Tifa released Cloud from the hug and went back to the bar. Any hint of exhaustion she had shown moments before were gone as she tended to the customers refilling their drinks.

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Well, there you have it! 4 chapters in, and I think this is shaping up to be a pretty good story (if I can say so, myself). I'm really happy with the way it's turning out. As always, review if you want. Suggestions welcome. Thanks!

-Teni


	5. Chapter 5

Hey, it's Teni!

Thank you guys so much for the support! It's been great to read the reviews you guys have posted so far. They're very encouraging and they're all I need for inspiration when I lose my focus while writing the story. I hope you all are enjoying this. I still don't know how long this is going to be, but I still have plenty of ideas to write for it. Thanks again and hope you enjoy!

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Tifa knocked on Cloud's open door as he stood over his desk rummaging through delivery papers. "Hey," she spoke. It was hard to get Cloud's attention when he was busy with sorting through deliveries.

"What's up?" he asked over his shoulder.

"I'm going to head out to place those orders for stock. Marlene wants to come. Do you mind watching him?" she referred to the boy still in bed. It was a Saturday, so Marlene didn't have school. It was still early though. "He's still sleeping, and I'll be back before lunch."

Cloud shrugged. "Sure."

"Thanks. We shouldn't be long. Just an hour or so."

"That's fine." Cloud nodded as he took a seat at his desk and shifted to look at her. "I'll just be working in here."

"Okay." Tifa gave him a small smile and went back downstairs. Cloud turned back to his work and continued with it as he heard Tifa and Marlene leave through the back door. After a few minutes of trying to sort through them, Cloud sighed in frustration. He'd been neglecting his deliveries for the last few days. He would have to spend the weekend making up for lost time. He had let his work pile up and now it was coming back to bite him in the ass.

There was a squeak as a door opened in the house. Cloud froze for a moment, his eyes darting to his sword resting against the wall, before remembering he wasn't alone. He had almost forgotten the boy was still in the house. He must have woken up. Cloud heard the bedroom door close and steps going down the stairs. Cloud turned in his chair just in time to see the boy heading down. Cloud would have gone back to his work had he not noticed the boy had his shoes on and a backpack slung over his shoulder.

Curious, Cloud quietly got up from his desk and expertly moved into the hallway without making a sound. He listened at the top of the stairs for a moment and heard a rummaging in the kitchen. _What's he doing?_ Cloud thought as he slowly moved down the steps. He kept to the wall just before the doorway and saw the boy going through the pantry. He was stuffing food into the backpack which Cloud recognized as one of his. It was an old one that had been stored away in the closet by the back door. Cloud only used it when he was travelling. It looked like this kid was planning to do the same thing. Cloud watched the boy close the pantry and move to the fridge. He didn't seem to be trying to keep his movements quiet. He must have thought he was alone. As the boy was busy stuffing food into his bag, Cloud silently moved from the doorway.

The boy closed the fridge and zipped up the backpack. Slinging it over his shoulder, he turned to the front door and jumped a mile high at seeing Cloud leaning against it casually.

"Going somewhere?" Cloud asked, his arms crossed over his chest. The boy just stood there with a look of shock still on his face. Cloud almost smiled at his frightened expression. "Planning a long trip?" Cloud gestured to the bag on his shoulder. The boy looked at it, then back at Cloud. "I'm pretty sure I recognize that backpack." The boy looked down at his feet shamefully. He nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"If you want to go, I'm not going to stop you." Cloud informed him. The boy's head shot up. Another look of shock crossed his face at Cloud's words. "But just so you know, stealing food and sneaking off when everyone's gone is a pretty poor way to thank someone." With that, Cloud straightened up from leaning against the door. He unlocked the deadbolt with a heavy click and opened the door to the street, holding it open for him as the sounds of the busy street flooded the silence. The boy's eyes moved from Cloud to the street, watching the people walk by. Cloud waited a moment for the boy to take the opportunity to leave, but he didn't move from his spot. Satisfied in his suspicion the boy wouldn't do it, Cloud closed the door and locked it again. He walked up to the boy, who stumbled back a small step as Cloud towered over him. Maybe he was scared Cloud would hit him or yell at him, but Cloud just wordlessly held out his hand for the backpack. The boy looked at it for a moment, but didn't turn the bag of stolen goods over.

"You don't want me here anyway." The boy finally spoke. Cloud was surprised he did, but didn't let it show on his face.

"Who told you that?" Cloud questioned, not moving his outstretched hand.

"I heard you."

So the boy had heard Cloud at one point or another suggest he be placed somewhere else. "Who cares if I don't want you here? I'm hardly around here anyway off making deliveries. Besides, this is Tifa's place. Who am I to tell her who can and can't stay here?" Cloud motioned for the boy to hand over the bag. Sighing, he did so. Rolling the strap off his shoulders, the kid handed Cloud the bag, who unzipped it right there to see it stuffed with food. Cloud noticed several of his granola bars were in there. He pulled one out to show the boy. "These are mine." He warned, and he moved passed the thief to the kitchen, setting the backpack on the bar counter as he walked passed it. "If you're hungry, I'll make you something. But don't go sneaking around taking other people's food." Cloud said over his shoulder. "Come on."

Cloud heard the boy hesitate, but then follow Cloud into the kitchen. Cloud busied himself with gathering ingredients from the bar supplies to make a burger. They were quiet as Cloud cooked the burger on the grill. After a few minutes Cloud set the made burger on the table the boy was seated at. He also set out a glass of milk and some ketchup. The boy just looked at the food without touching it.

"You gotta eat something." Cloud told him. "You're worrying Tifa. You've haven't eaten since you got here."

"What does it matter?" he challenged as he glared at the burger. "I won't be around much longer anyway."

Cloud knew he wasn't talking about leaving. The boy knew he was going to die. He was old enough to understand that. "So you're just going to starve yourself?" The youth didn't answer. "Then what was the point of taking the food?" Cloud questioned. "If you really wanted to give up, you would have just left without it." Cloud pushed the plate closer to him. "Eat it. Or I'll tell Tifa you tried to leave like that." The boy looked up at Cloud, as if to see if there was any doubt that he would really do it. Cloud leaned against the table. "It would break her heart." He raised an eyebrow and looked down at the burger.

The boy looked back down at the burger, slowly grabbed it with his small hands, and raised it to his mouth.

"Hey." Cloud said before he took a bite. The boy looked at him. "What's your name?"

The youth looked down again, then answered. "Denzel." His eyes flickered back up to Cloud before taking a bite of the burger. Cloud nodded once in approval and straightened from his position to start cleaning the utensils he used to make Denzel his first real meal since getting to _7th Heaven._

Tifa came back with Marlene a half an hour later. She nearly dropped her house keys at the sight of the boy eating the remains of a burger and Cloud sitting across from him working on deliveries. Cloud looked up at her frozen in the doorway and raised an eyebrow at her. "You're eating!" Tifa looked at the boy as he finished his last bite of the burger. She moved from the doorway, Marlene behind her, and set her keys on the table. She looked between the two boys for an explanation, but Cloud had gone back to his work and the boy's mouth was still full as he chewed. Not that she expected him to talk anyway.

The boy swallowed his mouthful of food and pushed his plate away. "I'm going to go upstairs." He told Cloud quietly as he pushed his chair away from the table. Tifa's jaw dropped in disbelief and was speechless as Marlene smiled in surprise. The boy approached Marlene. "Do you want to play something, Marlene?" he asked her. Marlene nodded excitedly and the two of them hurried up the stairs. Tifa watched them leave, not believing what she just saw.

"How did...when...what did you-"

"Denzel." Cloud told her, not looking up from his work.

Tifa looked back at Cloud. "What?"

"His name's Denzel." He shrugged as he filled out a delivery form.

"Cloud." Tifa got his attention. Cloud looked back up at her to see her shaking her head in disbelief, but still smiling. The expression was a question: _How?_ Cloud just shrugged again, _I don't know._ Tifa shook her head once more and took the seat Denzel had been occupying moments before. She needed to sit down. It had been an eventful day.

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He speaks! Finally, I don't have to keep referring to Denzel as "the boy." It was starting to feel a little redundant. Thanks again for the reviews! Let me know if you want to see something happen or have any suggestions.

-Teni


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys, it's Teni.

I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this story. It's so exciting to see the number of views climb everyday. I've been really excited about writing this story and try to continue adding to it any spare chance I get. As always, leave suggestions you might have. I'd love to hear any ideas you guys have and want to see. Hope you enjoy!

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It had been a week since Denzel had been brought to _7th Heaven_ , and four days since he had told them his name. He still didn't talk much unless asked a direct question, but Tifa didn't mind. He was a quiet boy. She figured Cloud liked him better because of it. Denzel ate every meal he was given. He sometimes wouldn't finish them or only eat a bit of the food, but it was still more than he had been eating when he first got there. Tifa reasoned that she would gradually make him eat more until he was eating normal helpings. Tifa did notice Denzel had more energy during the day. He slept in less and didn't fall asleep during the day like he had been doing in the first few days. His eyes were a little brighter than they had been.

The episodes Denzel suffered from were still frequent. In the week he had been at _7th Heaven,_ Denzel fell prey to five different episodes. Two had been in the first twenty-four hours of being at _7th Heaven_. The other three had occurred periodically throughout the next days. Tifa always tended to him when he went through an episode induced by the pain the Geostigma caused him. Every time black ooze would pour from the black mark on his forehead, and every time left Denzel in a state of moans and fatigue. He would be so exhausted afterwards he was usually down for the rest of the day. Marlene wasn't as scared anymore when this happened. Instead of freezing in fear like she did that first night, Marlene would get Tifa and then try to help her in any way she could, whether that was getting towels, a glass of water, or watching Denzel for a minute when Tifa went to get something.

Cloud didn't help Tifa directly when she was tending to Denzel. He would help her instead by picking up the work she had been doing when the episode happened until she returned. Cloud would finish washing the dishes or continue making lunch for the kids. There was one time Denzel had an episode and Cloud was out on a delivery, so Tifa didn't have much help. Cloud felt bad when Tifa told him. He wanted to keep his distance from the boy, but he didn't want to abandon Tifa to taking care of the sick boy. Cloud didn't like leaving Tifa alone with it, but he had to make his deliveries. He had his own business to keep afloat. To make it so he didn't have to be away for too long, Cloud starting accepting more local deliveries that would only take him a few hours as oppose to other deliveries that would take him an entire day to complete.

Cloud was sitting at the kitchen table with his deliveries papers spread out around him. He had agreed to watch Denzel while Tifa was out shopping. Marlene was at school and wouldn't be home for a few hours still. Denzel was in the living room quietly reading a book Tifa had lent him. The night before Denzel had asked her if she had any books to read, and she was so happy he had talked without being asked something that she insisted he could go into her room and look at any of the books on her shelf. Denzel had picked out a book from the shelf and had been reading it most of the morning.

Denzel hadn't spoken to Cloud since the day the spikey haired man had caught him trying to leave, and that was fine with Cloud. The boy barely spoke unless asked something, and Cloud didn't have much to say to him anyway. Cloud would sometimes catch the boy looking at him when they were in the same room together and Denzel would look away suddenly, as if scared Cloud would yell at him or something. Cloud didn't do anything though. He would just go back to what he was doing and pretend he didn't notice the silent boy start staring at him again.

Cloud tapped his pen as he shifted his attention from one delivery request to a map of Midgar and the surrounding areas. He was plotting his next few deliveries. He liked to make several deliveries at once so he needed to map out the fastest route for the circuit he was creating.

Cloud suddenly heard a dull thump from the other room, snapping him out of his thoughts. Curious, Cloud got up from the table in the kitchen and walked into the living room. He looked into the room and swore when he saw Denzel was collapsed on the ground, his hands clutching his head as he moaned in pain. His whole body convulsed as the puss oozed in between his fingers and dropped onto the carpet. Cloud hurried over to the boy and scooped him up in his arms. Denzel continued to convulse in his arms as Cloud sat down on the couch. "Hey!" Cloud tried to shake him. "Denzel!"

The boy was sweating profusely and pale. The black puss oozed from his forehead and his eyes were screwed shut. His breathing quickened as the pain became worse and there was nothing that could be done except wait for it to pass.

"It's okay," Cloud told him. He had to comfort him somehow. He could see the fear in Denzel's face as the pain coursed through him. One of his black covered hands moved from his forehead and gripped the fabric of Cloud's shirt with white knuckles. "It's okay. It's almost over." Cloud promised as Denzel cried out and tears streaming from his eyes mixing with the black steaks already staking claim there. "I'm here." Cloud said without thinking. "I'm right here. You're not alone."

FF7FF7FF7FF7FF7FF7FF7FF7

Tifa opened the door to _7_ _th_ _Heaven_ and set her bags down on the bar. "Cloud, Denzel, I'm back!" she called to the back room as she started removing her groceries from the bags. Tifa walking into the kitchen, cans in her hands, and saw Cloud's work papers strewn all over the table. "Cloud?" she called as she walked back to the packages.

"Tifa." She heard Cloud call quietly from the living room.

"What?" she called back, wondering why he was being so quiet.

"Come here."

Confused, Tifa walked in to the back room and gasped when she saw Cloud sitting on the couch with the boy unconscious in his arms. "Oh no," she took in the sight and rushed to his side.

"He had another episode." Cloud said quietly. "It's over though. He's sleeping. I just…didn't want to wake him." Cloud's eyes did not leave the boy's face. The boy was a sickly pale and his brow was slick with sweat.

"He's usually pretty out of it after it happens." Tifa placed her hand on Denzel's cheek to feel his temperature. "He doesn't feel like he has a fever though. It must not have been as bad as his other ones. When did it happen?" she grabbed the rag from her back pocket and softly dabbed at the black ooze coming from his forehead.

"About forty-five minutes ago. He hasn't woken since, but I…" Cloud trailed off.

"Let me take him upstairs. He won't wake for a few hours." And Tifa reached out to take the boy out of Cloud's lap.

"I'll take him." Cloud got up slowly, cradling the boy in his arms. The boy stirred slightly, moaning slightly, and he buried his head into the crook of Cloud's arm. Cloud didn't move for a moment, and the boy settled. Tifa followed him as he brought the boy up to his bed. Tifa moved to the bathroom to retrieve a fresh cloth and Cloud pulled Denzel's blanket up to cover the sleeping boy. Tifa came in with a wet cloth and started gently wiping away the black liquid still on Denzel's forehead. Cloud noted how the boy flinched every so often at the touch. When she finished, Tifa moved back downstairs. Cloud made to follow, but hesitated as he looked back at the sleeping child. His face was pulled into one of discomfort. Cloud slowly pulled the door ajar before heading downstairs after Tifa.

When he reentered the kitchen, Tifa was just pulling out the newly bought items from the paper bags. Cloud took his seat at the table and tried to pick up where he left off earlier with his maps and delivery papers, but his mind was in a million places now. Tifa watched him fumble with his papers, shifting them around to make himself look busy, but she knew better. His normally soft face was pulled into hard lines of concentration and a hint of frustration, especially between his eyebrows. His jaw flexed and he chewed on the inside of his cheek. His frustration would especially show when he ran his hand through his hair every now and then.

Finally, giving in to the frustration, Cloud shoved the papers away and slouched back in his chair seemingly staring at the table, but his eyes were unfocused. "Are you hungry?" Tifa asked quietly after a moment. "I can make you something if you want."

Cloud didn't answer for a bit, then gave one shake of his head, his mind still off somewhere else. Tifa sighed and sat down next to him at the table. "You're a million miles away." she tilted her head as she looked into his vacant eyes. "Where are you?"

"I'm here." He answered automatically.

"Are you?" she touched his arm, giving it a firm pressure, and Cloud blinked, his eyes focusing again. He was back. "What's going on in that head of yours?"

Cloud sighed and spared a glance at her. "Just…thinking."

"About what?" Tifa pressed. It was hard to get Cloud to open up.

Cloud shrugged. "After everything we did. Everything we had to do to save the planet, and there's still this much suffering in it."

Tifa didn't say anything. There was nothing to say to something like that. It was the truth. After all the battles, and all the lives lost, and all the suffering they went through to make things right, the world was still just as hard and full of suffering as it was before. Nothing had changed.

"Then I guess we just have to focus on making it better." Tifa nodded to herself. "Even in the smallest ways possible if we have to." Cloud looked up at her. "I believe even the smallest acts of kindness make all the difference." Tifa looked at him meaningfully. "Even if we don't realize it half the time."

Cloud looked back at his work on the table and nodded to her once in agreement. Tifa gave his arm one last squeeze before going back to putting groceries away.

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So there you have it! Hope you guys enjoyed!

-Teni


	7. Chapter 7

Hey guys! Teni here.

So I'm in the middle of finals week here, and I have two essays due in two days for the same class (I don't know why professors feel the need to do this. Ah, the life of an English major) but my brain's been going off with all these ideas for this story. I had actually planned to write something else for this chapter, but then I got this idea today and thought it would make a great bridge into the next chapter. I've noticed I get way more ideas for writing when I'm facing pressure for a due date on an assignment. Isn't it funny how that works? Does anyone else experience this?

So I've been getting quite a few reviews in the last few days, which was really cool since I haven't updated in a few days. Your reviews are so encouraging and they just make my day! Each time I read them I feel so excited and amped up to keep writing the next chapter. You guys have had great questions so far, so keep 'em up! Let me know if you want to see something in particular or have more questions. I genuinely want to make this better for you guys to read, and I can do that better if you give me those suggestions or themes/topics to think about. Thank you so much for those!

So, here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy. This one's a little more from Denzel's perspective, so it starts with him rather than always starting from Cloud or Tifa's perspective. Hope you like it!

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Denzel woke to find himself in his bed under the warm covers. He flinched as his forehead gave one last painful sting and his hand flew up to it. Afraid to see it, he shakily pulled back his hand expecting the familiar black ooze to be covering his fingers. However, his palms were clear of any blemish. Denzel tried to remember how he got into bed, but the last thing he could remember was sitting on the sofa in the living room reading one of Tifa's books from her room.

Denzel slowly sat up in bed and looked out the window to see the sun beginning to set above the buildings. Had he slept the entire day away? Denzel sighed as he turned from the window and moved his feet to the floor. He noted the dirtied cloth resting on the bedside table. He recognized the black ooze that stained the cloth. So he had had another fit. Denzel moved his eyes away from the reminder of his certain fate and focused instead on standing up. He stood and waited experimentally for the rush of dizziness that usually came after one of his fits brought on by the Geostigma. However, the wave of dizziness never came. Denzel was surprised. The edges of his vision would usually turn black until he could hardly see, then slowly recede as he waited for it to pass. As he took a step, Denzel noted his legs still felt shaky, but it was manageable.

He slowly made his way out of the room and down the stairs as one hand grazed the wall for support. As he reached the bottom of the steps, Denzel could hear water running and dishes clanking together. Denzel opened the door at the bottom of the stairs leading into the bar area behind the counter. He turned to the kitchen to see Tifa at the sink washing dishes. Not sure what else to do, Denzel entered the kitchen and had a seat at the table.

Tifa turned at the sound of the wooden chair scratching against the floor and smiled at Denzel. "How are you feeling?" she asked. Denzel was quiet, and for a moment, Tifa was worried he had gone back to not talking.

"Okay, I guess." Denzel shrugged as he stared at a scratch in the table. He picked at it with one hand while he rested his chin on the other.

"Are you hungry? I could make you something." Tifa offered. Denzel shrugged again. He wasn't very hungry. He never was after having an episode. Tifa was quiet for a moment after Denzel's noncommittal answer. She turned back to washing dishes for a few minutes, then turned back to the boy. "There's still a few hours before the bar opens up. Marlene's over at a friend's house, but she'll be back in an hour or two."

"Okay." Denzel muttered. He stayed at the table picking at the scratch in the wood. Tifa finished up with the dishes and went into the bar area, placing her hand on the top of Denzel's head as she moved passed him. She moved back and forth between the bar and the kitchen as she started setting up for opening. She started putting down chairs and wiping off the tables. Denzel just stayed in the kitchen, not paying attention.

Something had been bothering him since he had woken up. Denzel could never remember anything from his episodes except bits and pieces. For some reason, he could remember a voice calling his name, and someone saying, "It's okay." He remembered Tifa sometimes saying that, but it didn't sound like Tifa the last time.

 _You're not alone._ Denzel suddenly remembered. Who said it though? Tifa hadn't been home in the morning. Neither had Marlene. The only one in the house had been Cloud.

A clatter from the other side of the door leading into the garage pulled Denzel from his thoughts. Curious, Denzel lifted his head up from resting on his arm to look in the direction. As he listened, Denzel heard more strange, high pitched noises. Denzel slowly moved from the chair and walked towards the door. He hadn't been in the garage before, but he knew that was where to door led to from overhearing discussions between Cloud and Tifa. Denzel grabbed the doorknob and pulled it open. He peeked through the opening to see the familiar bike Cloud had brought Denzel to _7 th Heaven_ on. There didn't seem to be anyone around though. Denzel opened the door a little wider and slipped through it into the garage. He could instantly smell oil and grease and that metallic smell that usually came with a garage. He closed to door quietly behind him and moved closer to get a better look at the bike. It looked a little different from the last time he saw it. It was missing some pieces. Parts of the coverings were off and strewn about the concrete floor. Tools were littered in between the hoses and metal parts on the ground. Denzel was careful not to step on anything as he moved around the room.

Denzel noticed there was music playing quietly in the background. He looked for the source of it to a beat up looking radio sitting on a shelf on the wall. There were various objects on the other shelves: Metal parts, pictures of other bikes, tools. Denzel noted there was a drawing hanging on the wall. It was drawn in crayon. From what Denzel could make out, it was supposed to be Cloud with huge blonde spikey hair standing next to a giant black blob Denzel assumed to be the bike. Obviously, it had been drawn by Marlene.

Denzel moved from the picture and turned back to the bike. As he moved to the other side of it, he noted a small stool and even more tools surrounding it. Denzel looked around quickly, but there was definitely nobody in there besides him. There was a small room to the right quartered off by a hanging piece of clear plastic, but there was not movement on the other side. Denzel focused back on the bike. Since the outer cover was off, Denzel could see all the tiny parts connecting together. There were pipes, hoses, electrical wires, and some parts Denzel had never seen before. He knew enough not to touch them. He didn't want to mess anything up. He just wanted to take a closer look.

There was a plastic rustling from his right and a cool voice, "Hey." Startled, Denzel spun to the right to see Cloud standing there, one eyebrow raised. He was wiping his hands with a dirty rag as he stood in the doorway of the smaller room, the plastic sheet caught between his back and the doorway. Denzel was waiting for Cloud to yell at him, or tell him to get away from his bike, but instead, Cloud just looked at him.

"You feeling okay?" Cloud asked. Denzel was surprised how soft his voice was since he was expecting the older blonde to yell at him. Recovering, Denzel just nodded. Cloud nodded in satisfaction at his answer and moved towards him. Denzel took a step back from him and the bike. "His name's Fenrir." Cloud gestured to the bike as he tossed the dirty rag on the ground with the tools already there.

Denzel was quiet for a moment, then, sensing that Cloud was waiting for him to respond, he plucked up the courage to speak. "You named it?" He asked, looking up at Cloud.

A small smile played at the corner of Cloud's mouth. "Yeah. He just looked like a Fenrir." Cloud looked back at the boy, whose eyes were fixed on the bike. "Do you know where the name 'Fenrir' comes from?" Cloud asked. Denzel looked up at Cloud and shook his head.

"Fenrir was the lord of all the wolves. He was immensely powerful, and the other gods feared him, so they tried to chain him up. However, every time they did he would break free, proving that he couldn't be tamed. That's why wolves today can never be tamed." Cloud peeked a glance at Denzel, who was staring at Cloud's shoulder. Cloud looked down to his shoulder to see his wolf buckle there. Cloud pointed to it. "Fenrir." He told the boy. Denzel looked up at Cloud's face, then back at the bike.

"So…what's wrong with Fenrir?" Denzel asked. Although he didn't show it, Cloud was pleased the boy was calling the bike by its name.

"The brakes were feeling a little stiff on my last delivery." Cloud shrugged. "Figured I'd take a look at them." Cloud considered the boy in front of him, then added. "Wanna help?"

Cloud watched Denzel's eyes light up as he looked back up at Cloud. "Really?" he dared to ask.

"Mm-hmm." Cloud nodded, then pointed to the corner of the garage. "Grab a crate form over there to sit on." Denzel's head whipped around to where Cloud was pointing to, then back at Cloud. A smile broke over the boy's face then. It was a small one, and only there for a moment, but Cloud saw it. And for some reason, a relief washed over the ex-SOLDIER as he watched the boy hurry to grab the blue crate sitting in the corner. Cloud took his own seat on the small stool he had been using and picked up one of the tools from the ground he had discarded earlier to grab a rag from the back room.

About an hour later, Tifa opened the door to the garage to let Cloud know the bar would be opening soon. However, as she opened the door to call out to him over the music, the sound caught in her throat as she saw Cloud and Denzel sitting in front of the bike, each with a tool in their hands and looks of concentration on their faces.

"Like this?" she heard Denzel ask as he turned a tool the wrong way on a bolt.

"No, the other way." Cloud corrected him as he held one of Fenrir's coverings in place.

"How are you supposed to know which way to turn it?" Denzel's voice strained with effort as he tightened the large bolt. "I always get confused."

"You'll get it." Cloud promised him. Tifa saw his eyes move to her, and he straightened, waiting for her to say something.

"It's almost five o'clock." Tifa let him know.

Cloud nodded once. "We'll be there in a minute. We're almost done."

Tifa smiled and looked to Denzel. His eyes flickered to her, and he gave her a nervous smile before going back to what he was doing. The smile almost stole her breath away. She had never seen the boy smile since he arrived at _7 th Heaven._ Tifa wished she could take a picture of it. It really was a beautiful smile.

* * *

And there you have it! I really liked writing this chapter. I wrote this chapter while feeling the nostalgia of remembering when I used to help my dad in the garage. I always loved it. I still do, but being at college means it's kinda hard to go home and help him with those kinds of things lately. Thank goodness I'm almost done with this semester!

Just have to say, I love that Cloud named his bike. Fenrir is always such a cool name. You can never go wrong with it! If there's something you guys really want to see out of this, let me know! Thanks so much for reading!

-Teni


	8. Chapter 8

Hey guys! So I figured I'd post the next chapter since I can't seem to focus enough for these essays. I had a lot of fun writing this one. Hope you guys enjoy it! Here you go!

* * *

It had been almost a month since Denzel arrived at _7th Heaven_ , and Tifa noticed how far he had come since then. Denzel was eating normal helpings of food, and was no longer scrawny as a result. He was naturally, lanky, but no longer skin and bones. Seeing the hard angles of his face round out into the soft curves made Denzel look so much younger. It made him look like the kid he was supposed to be. Tifa silently watched him interact with Marlene and Cloud. He would play with Marlene, the both of them running around the house laughing and carefree. They played silly games like hide-and-seek and a few of the board games they had in the closet. Tifa was glad Marlene had someone to play with. Marlene had been happy before, but having Denzel there too gave her more things to occupy her time. Marlene was a vibrant spirit. Staying all day in the house really didn't do much to nurture it. Having Denzel there made her even happier.

Tifa and Cloud had debated sending Denzel to school, but by the time they had considered it, Marlene only had a week left of school before summer break. So, they just continued to let Denzel stay home while Marlene left every morning to finish out her last week of school. Marlene's school friends had heard that there was another kid staying at Marlene's house. They had been curious about it, and Marlene told them about Denzel. She left out the fact that he had Geostigma. She knew enough to not tell them about that. But one day, while Marlene was playing with her friends outside, they asked if Denzel could play with them too. Tifa was hesitant about it, but Cloud noted that Denzel's affliction was easily covered up by the bangs of his longer hair. Even Cloud, who was always so observant, didn't notice the black mark on the boy's forehead when he first found him outside the church. After some persuading on him part, Cloud convinced Tifa to let Denzel play outside with Marlene and her friends.

Denzel was hesitant at first. Of course, he wanted to play with the other kids, but he was shy. Marlene didn't let this hold him back, however, as she grabbed his hand in hers and led him over to her group of friends. They greeted him kindly, and asked him to join in on their game. Denzel considered declining, already resigning himself to just sit on the curb and watch, but Marlene clutched his hand even tighter and pulled him into their game.

"It's okay." Marlene told him when he resisted her insistent pulls on his arms. "It'll be fun!"

Denzel's eyes had flickered between Marlene and her friends, who were looking at him hopefully, then back to Marlene. He gave her a slight nod and silently followed them into their game of tag. After that day, and especially once school was over for the summer, Marlene and Denzel usually went to the park to play with the other kids, as long as they were back before the bar opened.

And so, that was how the summer started at _7th Heaven_. Some days, Marlene and Denzel would play with the other kids at the park. Other days, when Cloud was home, Denzel would help him work on his bike. When Cloud was off making deliveries, Denzel would sometimes read, but after reading most of the books in Tifa's small collection of them, Denzel took to helping Tifa set up the bar for opening. He would take down chairs with Marlene or set out glasses. Tifa was thankful for the help.

And all the while, as this ragtag family of four went about their routines, Denzel's episodes slowly became less frequent. The severity of them also lessened. For a while, Tifa was hopeful that maybe the Stigma was going away, but the black mark on Denzel's forehead never receded, and the episodes didn't go away completely. When she mentioned this to Cloud one day while Marlene and Denzel were outside playing, he immediately shot it down.

"It's just because he's in a better environment." The ex-SOLDIER told her as he shook his head. "He was in pretty bad shape when we found him, so the Stigma was taking advantage of that. He's healthier now, but that's only slowed the effects. It hasn't erased them."

Tifa eyes moved down to the floor as Cloud spoke the words. She knew they were true, and in her own mind, she already knew that was the case. But there was a small part of her that wanted to believe the boy was getting better, that his body was somehow finding the will to fight against the illness.

She felt a pressure on her arm, and Tifa looked up to see Cloud standing in front of her, a hand on her. His eyes were soft, but their icy color always made them look intense. "You've given him more time." Cloud told her.

Tifa smiled slightly, but it faded away after a moment. "But still…" she said quietly. "It's only borrowed time, isn't it?"

Cloud looked at her for a moment before answering. "It's time he didn't have before. And that means everything."

She hadn't thought about it like that before. Surely the boy would be dead if Cloud had never found him and brought him there. He had been so weak and tired, already given up. But Denzel was different now. He was still sad sometimes, and Cloud and Tifa assumed it was because Denzel knew he was still dying. They didn't think it was anything they could fix. But still, Denzel was alive. He was comfortable, and happy most days, and that was all because of Tifa; because she hadn't given up on him when Cloud regrettably had.

"It hasn't been just me, though." Tifa pointed out, giving Cloud a pointed look. "You've done a lot too."

"Not as much as you have."

Tifa shook her head. "I can't take all the credit. You're the one who got him to eat and actually talk. If it wasn't for you, he'd probably still be as silent and scrawny as ever!" Tifa smiled as she rolled her eyes. She moved back to wiping down tables as Cloud finished setting out glasses. The back door opened, letting Tifa and Cloud know that Denzel and Marlene were home.

Tifa looked up to greet them, but the greeting turned into a gasp as she saw Marlene leading a Denzel with a bloody nose into the bar.

"Denzel!" Tifa gasped and she instantly moved towards them, pulling a rag from her back pocket and putting pressure on Denzel's nose.

"Ow." Denzel huffed, trying to move his head away from Tifa's rag.

"What happened?" Cloud demanded as he knelt down beside them. He noticed the bruise on Denzel's cheek and a tear in his shirt collar. There was dirt smudged into the rest of his clothing and his ruffled hair. A few drops of blood stained the front of his shirt.

"Well…" Denzel hesitated as he grabbed the rag from Tifa and held it up to his bleeding nose, himself.

"Denzel punched Randy Reynolds!" Marlene said excitedly.

"You what?" Cloud turned to Denzel, whose expression immediately turned nervous at the serious look on Cloud's face.

"Why would you punch him?"

"It wasn't Denzel's fault!" Marlene answered. "Randy Reynolds was being mean to us at the park."

Randy Reynolds was another boy at Marlene's school. He was bigger than most kids, and meaner too. Tifa had heard stories about Randy from Marlene and other parents.

"That doesn't mean you punch him." Cloud said sternly. "That means you come home and tell me or Tifa so we can deal with it."

"But…" Denzel tried to defend himself, "he was kicking dirt at us. And he pulled on Marlene's hair."

"You can't go around punching people just because they make you angry." Cloud told him. "You should have come home and told us."

Denzel looked away angrily and Tifa moved the bloodied rag away from his face. "It's not broken." She sighed in relief. "And it looks like the bleeding's stopped. Just…go upstairs and get cleaned up. It's almost time for the bar to open, so just stay in your room and I'll bring up some dinner later."

Denzel took the rag back from Tifa, shooting Cloud one last glare, then ran upstairs taking the steps two at a time.

"It really wasn't Denzel's fault." Marlene looked back up at Tifa. "He just wanted to protect me." She turned to Cloud. "Just like you want to protect us."

"Just go upstairs, Marlene." Cloud nodded for her to go. Marlene's eyes lowered, and she slowly made her way up the stairs.

Tifa sighed as she closed the door after the little girl. "I'll call Randy's parents tomorrow. This is getting out of hand. He's always bullying other kids."

Cloud nodded and turned on the lights to the sign outside. Within the hour, Cloud had forgotten about the matter. He was busy filling orders and entertaining the regulars. Tifa had gone up to give the kids their dinner. According to her, Denzel was still peeved. Cloud rolled his eyes when Tifa told him. The kid couldn't be starting fights with other kids. And punching was definitely not allowed. He noted that he would have to have a talk with Denzel about it to make sure this didn't become a habit.

Cloud's attention moved from his customers to the front door when someone opened it with a loud bang. A few of the customers turned towards the door to see the man with a scraggly beard walk in, his face fuming. He moved up to the bar with a purpose and leaned on the counter. "Are you Cloud Strife?" he asked in a gruff voice.

"Who's asking?" Cloud countered as he set a glass of ale down in front of another customer.

"I'm Randy's dad." The man pointed a thumb at himself. "Do you care to explain to me why my son came home with a black eye and two teeth missing?"

Cloud's eyes widened in surprise. From what the kids had told him that afternoon, Cloud assumed Denzel had punched Randy and then gotten clobbered by the kid. But apparently, Denzel had given just as much as he got, maybe more.

Cloud decided he didn't like this guy's tone. "From what I understand, your son was picking fights at the park, and there was one kid who decided he wasn't going to have any of it." Cloud answered casually as he filled another glass on the tap.

"Yeah, well, your kid better stay away from my son."

"He's not my kid." Cloud corrected him. "And your s _on_ better start picking on kids his own size instead of bullying a little girl and her friends."

"I know that kid's staying with you." The man challenged. "And, I know he's not feeling so well." Cloud's movements slowed and turned to face the man directly. "My son says he saw the kid's got a funny black mark on his forehead. Now we all know what black marks mean in this city." The man smiled and watched Cloud, who slowly moved from behind the counter to stand in front of him.

Cloud continued to stare at the man, his eyes cold and calculating. "Now, I could threaten to tell everyone in this bar that the owners of this fine establishment are housing a plague-ridden street urchin, but what's the point? Before anyone can make a real fuss about it, that kid'll be _dead_ before anything can be done!"

One minute the man was sneering as he stared at Cloud, who was motionless. The next, the man was lying flat on his back, knocked out cold. He hadn't even seen Cloud's fist fly up to meet him.

There was silence immediately after the thud of the body hitting the floor. Cloud looked around at the other customers, and at Tifa who had frozen while in the middle of serving a table their food. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the man lying unconscious on the floor, and then back up at Cloud. Her face was hard. Cloud didn't say anything.

"We'll take care of him for you, Cloud!" One of the regulars nodded as he gestured to his friends sitting at the bar. Cloud watched as the three of them rose from their barstools and carried the man ceremoniously out of the bar, the other customers whooping and laughing at the event. Cloud returned to his spot behind the counter and continued serving drinks, giving the men a free round when they returned from throwing the guy outside.

Tifa made her way over to him and stood next to him. Cloud continued filling orders, but Tifa still stared at him, burning a hole into the side of his head. Finally, Cloud looked up at her. He noted she was holding the serving the serving tray at her side, and for a moment he was afraid she was going to hit him over the head with it, but she just stared at him.

"It was Randy's dad-"Cloud tried to explain.

"Yeah I know who it was." Tifa clipped him off. Cloud didn't know what to say. "What happened to 'You can't go around punching people just because they make you angry'?" Tifa questioned. "Does that just go out the window because you're supposed to be an adult?"

"You didn't hear what he said." Cloud reasoned.

"I don't care what he said." Tifa shook her head. "How are you supposed to teach the kids these rules if you refuse to follow them, yourself?"

Cloud looked down at the floor, then back up at Tifa. "He did deserve it, though." He gave the childish remark halfheartedly.

Tifa's face stayed the same, but Cloud saw her composure break at the last remark and saw the smile playing at the corner of her mouth. She tried to hide it by twisting her mouth to the side, but Cloud smirked at her failed efforts, and the grin reluctantly broke across her face. "No more punching!" she said sternly as she moved passed him, knocking him in the shoulder. Tifa rolled her eyes as she entered the kitchen. What was she going to do with these boys?

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Gotta love Cloud. I always have fun writing out his scenes. Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed, and I'll probably post another chapter soon, maybe even today, but no promises! Thanks again for reading.

-Teni


	9. Chapter 9

Hey guys! It's Teni!

I'm so sorry it's taken me this long to post a new chapter. I finished my finals last week and I was planning on posting another chapter, but then I had to pack everything up for the move back home, and then my brother graduated college, so there was that and his grad party, and then the last few days have been just me relaxing and enjoying being back at home before starting the job hunt for summer jobs.

Anyway, thank you guys for being so patient with me. Thanks for the reviews as always.

Another thing, I mean, obviously I don't own Final Fantasy VII, but is it necessary that I write it before every chapter? Obviously I haven't been doing it from the beginning, but I mean, this is FanFiction. Shouldn't that mean it's implied that it's all fandom and based off of other fictions? Just some food for thought. But, just in case I was supposed to be doing it, let me just formally say:

I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of it's characters.

There, I said it. Now go read this chapter! Ha.

Hope you enjoy, and sorry for the long wait!

* * *

"Strife Delivery Service," Denzel heard Cloud answer the phone from his office. "You name it, we deliver." Denzel felt sympathy for Cloud. He didn't sound like he enjoyed answering the phone. Denzel noted how miserable Cloud sounded. His caretaker had been in his office for the almost the entire day working on delivery papers. Denzel imagined answering the phone every time it demanded attention every half hour or so while trying to get other things done was tedious. As Denzel thought about it he came to the conclusion that it didn't suit Cloud at all. In the time he had been at _7th Heaven_ , Denzel had observed many things. He didn't talk much, but that was because he was always watching. After watching Cloud, Denzel realized that Cloud liked to be on the move. He didn't stay in one place for long, even in the house. He was always moving from one room to the other after a few minutes. He paced sometimes, Denzel noticed. It was all very subtle, and from what Denzel could tell, Cloud didn't seem to realize he did it. But Denzel couldn't help but feel that Cloud was waiting for something. Waiting for what? For something to happen? Denzel didn't know, but what he did know was sitting in a small room all day was not something Cloud enjoyed in the slightest.

"Denzel?" Marlene's questioning voice broke through Denzel's thoughts. He turned to her not realizing he had been staring at the door to Cloud's office which was slightly ajar. Marlene was looking at him with a perplexed look. "It's your turn," she gestured to the board game in front of them.

"Oh." Denzel gave her an apologetic look and picked up a card from the center and read the directions of how far he was supposed to move his game piece across the board. He and Marlene continued playing their game as Cloud continued to work in his office. Tifa was downstairs going over supplies for the bar. It was a quiet Sunday for the residents at the _7th Heaven._ However, that changed when there was a heavy knock at the door that was heard all throughout the bar and house.

Marlene and Denzel both looked up from their game towards the door and Denzel saw Cloud hang up the phone and reach over to pull the door open from his chair. Denzel noticed him placed a hand on the hilt of the giant sword resting by the desk, and the orphan wondered if Cloud was aware he was doing it. He also wondered why Cloud had the great sword in his room always nearby. Denzel saw Cloud's eyes shift to him, and instead of looking away, Denzel gave him a twitch of a smile. Cloud winked at him and they all listened quietly for who could be at the door.

Denzel heard Tifa's excited voice, although he couldn't make out what she was saying, and there was another gravelly voice rumbling from downstairs. Denzel didn't recognize it, but it was dynamic and boisterous.

Marlene shot up from her spot of the floor, startling Denzel, and tripped over their game sending the small plastic game pieces flying and ticking across the wooden floor. Abandoning the game, Marlene ran out of the room to practically flew down the stairs. Confused, Denzel looked to Cloud who had a faint smile on his face as he looked down, still listening. Marlene's voice could be heard squealing in glee from downstairs and Denzel rose from the floor and moved towards the doorway. He was met by Cloud in the hallway.

"What's going on?" Denzel looked up at Cloud in question. Cloud simply put a hand across the boy's shoulder and led him to the stairs.

"C'mon. There's someone you should meet." Cloud gave as his only answer and they made their way down the stairs. As they made their way down, Denzel could hear Marlene's laughter and the unfamiliar voice laughing as well. The sound rumbled through Denzel's own chest as he entered the bar with Cloud still at his side.

It took Denzel a moment to realize that Marlene was not actually being crushed by huge bear whose arms she was in. It took Denzel another moment to realize that the bear was not actually a bear at all, but simply a man as big as a bear. His white teeth were not bared, like Denzel had thought, but were gleaming in laughter. His dark skin crinkled near his eyes and around his mouth at the laugh lines. Marlene was maybe the size of one of the arms encircling her and he was amazed that she wasn't being crushed by them.

"I missed you, baby!" the great man said to the laughing Marlene who seemed to be hugging him with just as much force as he was despite her tiny body.

"I missed you too, Daddy!" She laughed as she kissed him on his scruffy cheek.

Denzel looked up at Cloud, who was still wearing the smile on his face. "Marlene's parents died when she was a baby." Cloud explained quietly to the confused boy. "Barrett was a close friend of theirs, so he adopted her."

Denzel looked back to the man and Marlene. He hadn't known Marlene had been an orphan, but she didn't remember her parents. Denzel watched the large man embrace the little girl. He left the love filling the room. He felt the warmth. He felt the sense of family.

Denzel looked down at the shoes Tifa had bought him a few weeks ago. They no longer had their new shine and were looking just as worn as any other pair of shoes. He noticed them get blurry in his eyesight and he felt something hot and wet trail down his cheeks.

"Hey! Spikey!" the man named Barrett greeted in a booming voice as he set Marlene down. Cloud rolled his eyes and moved forward to shake Barrett's metal hand. Barrett took his other hand and patted Cloud's shoulder several times. Cloud winced at the slight pain, but still smiled. "Thanks for keepin' it a surprise!"

Marlene turned to Cloud. "You knew?!" She smiled excitedly.

"Mm-hmm." Cloud nodded.

"We wanted it to be a surprise." Tifa smiled at the little girl.

"Thank you!" Marlene hugged Tifa.

"Hey," Cloud got Barrett's attention. "There's a new face at _7th Heaven_ ," Cloud turned to where Denzel was. "Denzel…" Cloud trialed off when he realized Denzel was no longer there. Cloud heard the door to the kid's room close upstairs.

Cloud looked to Tifa, who was looking concerned. Marlene's smile began to fade from her face. "Where's Denzel?" she asked.

FF7FF7FF7FF7FF7FF7FF7

Denzel wiped his eyes with his sleeve as he closed the door to the bedroom. Locking it, he moved to the foot of his bed and sat on the floor. Pulling his knees up to his chest, he buried his head into his head there and tried to keep his crying quiet. He didn't want Cloud or Tifa to hear.

He missed them. So much. For the last few months he had buried it in the rubble of Sector 7, his home. But being at _7th Heaven_ had unearthed the reality and the pain. It made it fresh again. He had been trying to ignore the feeling for the last few weeks, but every little thing reminded him of them. Every time Tifa brushed the hair from his face. Every time Cloud put a hand on his shoulder. Tifa imploring him to eat. Marlene giving him a hug. Cloud letting him help on fixing his bike. Cloud leaving on deliveries. His dad, a doctor, always left to tend to others and would sometimes be away for days. Cloud was the same way although his time away had gradually gotten shorter in the last few weeks.

Denzel wiped his nose and pulled out the picture he always kept in his pants pocket. He unfolded it and looked at his parents smiling up at him. Their faces were young and happy with their boy sitting between them. Denzel saw his teardrops hit the worn picture. He wiped them away so as to not ruin the already damaged photograph. The edges were frayed and singed. It was all he had left of them. Denzel had grabbed it from their house in Sector 7 before they evacuated. According to his father, they didn't have time to pack anything.

His first night at _7th Heaven_ Denzel had completely forgotten the photo was in his pants pocket. When Tifa had gone to throw his old pair of pants away he had suddenly remembered and had scurried after her to retrieve the precious item.

Denzel tried to smooth out the photograph on his knee, but still crinkled. Frustrated, Denzel applied more pressure to it and rubbed it over his knee faster. It still had the creases. Denzel attempted to smooth it one more time before the flimsy photo gave and the right edge ripped away in his grip. Denzel gasped at what he had just done. He was frozen on the ground as he looked at the ruined picture. His parents' faces were still intact, but the edge of his mom's head was ripped away to her ear and her shoulder. Before it could get damaged anymore, Denzel stood up from his spot, went over to the end table by his bed, and numbly placed the photograph and the smaller piece inside. He closed the drawer, wiped his eyes, and moved to the door. He didn't want to think about it anymore. Any of it. He didn't want to think about anything.

Denzel unlocked the door and wrenched it open. Hurrying to get out of the room, Denzel made his way down the stairs with quick steps before almost running into Tifa. "Where were you?" she asked concernedly. "I was just about to go up and get you."

"I had to go to the bathroom." Denzel lied smoothly.

This obviously was not the answer Tifa had been expecting, and she opened her mouth to reply, then closed it for a moment. "Oh," she finally replied. "Well, then, come over here." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I want you to meet somebody." Tifa led Denzel through the bar and into the living room. Marlene was seated on the large man's lap chatting away happily. Cloud was sitting in one of the armchairs leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, that small smile still on his face as he watched the energetic child.

"…and then he told Randy to stop, but he didn't so Denzel punched him in the face!" Marlene explained excitedly. She turned to Denzel. "Isn't that right, Denzel?" Denzel looked from Marlene to her adoptive father, who was giving Denzel a considering look. Denzel instantly moved his eyes to the floor.

Barrett moved Marlene from his lap onto the spot next to him and slowly stood from his seat on the sofa. The dull green sofa groaned at the shifting weight. With footfalls much heavier than Cloud's, the monster of the man moved to tower over Denzel. Even Tifa took a step back from Denzel to give the man more space. Barrett crossed his arms across his chest and looked down at the boy.

"Marlene tells me you protected her from some kid being a bully at the park the other day." The man growled.

Denzel looked up at the man's steely eyes for second, noticed his metal arm, looked back down, then gave a silent nod.

"Ha!" The man barked out, making Denzel jump. "You got guts, kid!" Barret used his regular arm to place a hand on Denzel's head and ruffle his hair. "I like that!"

Denzel looked back up at the man who was showing his white teeth in his smile. "The name's Barrett." He grinned. "Marlene's my daughter, and the most precious thing to me. I'd feel a lot better knowing she had someone her age lookin' out for her."

"Sure, because Tifa and I don't do that already." Cloud poked fun at Barrett.

"You two have your own businesses to run during the day. Marlene needs someone her own age to keep her company while you two are off doin' boring grown-up stuff. I think this one can do the job just fine. What's your name, kid?" Barrett bent over to look at Denzel in the eye. Denzel stumble back a step at the sudden movement.

"D-Denzel." He stumbled over his own words.

Barrett squinted his eyes at the youth, as if he didn't believe that was his name, then a toothy grin broke over his face. "Well, Denzel. You keep keepin' Marlene company like she tells me you are, and I'd be mighty grateful for it. You mind doin' that while I'm away from time to time?"

Denzel's eyes shifted to Tifa, who was nodding him on, then to Cloud, who was giving him a faint smile. Denzel's eyes moved back to Barrett who was still waiting for a reply.

"Sure." Denzel nodded once. Although Denzel didn't think it possible, Barrett grinned even more and straightened up.

"Good. Now, where's my bag? I've got presents for you all!" he declared as he moved to his large black duffel bag by the sofa. Denzel watched Barrett move to the bag and wondered how someone with so much mass could move so gracefully at the same time in a small place like _7th Heaven._

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Well, there you have it. I know this chapter wasn't as eventful as the others, but it's got Barrett!

Barrett will be in the next few chapters since he's visiting Marlene, but I don't know how long he'll stay before he has to be off again.

Thanks for reading! As always, suggestions and questions are welcome!

-Teni


	10. Chapter 10

Hey guys! Teni here.

So, here's chapter 10! I actually meant to post this last night, but our internet wasn't working after the lights mysteriously shut off for a few seconds, then came back on. I had to wait until this morning to post and it was kinda driving me crazy. Haha.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

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Barrett had all sorts of gifts for the residence of _7th Heaven_ , including Denzel. "A summer Santa Claus!" Barrett called himself as he dug into the black duffel bag and withdrew several items. He handed Tifa a brown paper parcel and she opened it delicately while Barrett handed Cloud a large bottle full of a clear liquid. "It ain't wrapped pretty like Tifa's," Barrett told him. "But I figured you wouldn't mind. Here's your magic drink." He gave Cloud a wink, who accepted the bottle with quiet gratitude.

Barrett always brought Cloud this drink from his trips. In reality it was more alcohol than drink. Due to the high saturation of mako in his body, Cloud found that alcoholic drinks had no effect on him unless he drank exuberant amounts of hard liquor, only to get a little buzzed. Cloud deemed this as a waste of their stores of alcohol for the bar, and as a result, Barrett always made a point to bring Cloud a bottle or two of the strongest stuff he could find as a gift for him. Having an extremely strong drink such as this, Cloud could start feeling the effects after just a few drinks like a normal person. He had no desire for the drinks, and never let himself have more than what would get the job done to have him feeling a little looser. He'd never asked Barrett to bring him any, but he didn't refuse it either. Tifa didn't drink any of Cloud's alcohol. It was much too strong for her, or any other person whose cells weren't drenched with mako. Just a few mouthfuls would have anyone stumbling around.

Living above the bar, having cases of alcohol sitting around was a norm. Cloud never worried about Marlene accidentally getting into the stuff. She knew the cellar was generally off limits to her unless Cloud or Tifa specifically asked her to retrieve something or one of them was with her down there. She never ventured into the cellar anyway. There was nothing down there despite the crates of bottles and mixers. Marlene was a responsible girl for her young age, and she knew where not to mess around, like the cellar and Cloud's office. Even so, Cloud always kept Barrett's gifts to him in the top cabinet of the kitchen under lock and key, and the small silver key stayed in the drawer of his office desk when he didn't need it. The alcohol he received from Barrett was strong stuff and always lacking a label. If anyone should drink it by mistake in large quantities, they would be in for something much worse than just a hangover. Cloud found he was at better peace of mind when the stuff was locked away.

Tifa unwrapped to parcels to see an expensive bar polish and a recipe book for exotic drinks. "In case you ever want to change up your menu," Barrett winked at her. "Maybe add a special every now and then."

Tifa thanked him and started flipping through the pages of the book. She studied to exotic recipes for alcoholic drinks. Some of them had strange names she couldn't pronounce. As she was absorbed in the recipes, Barrett handed his daughter a parcel wrapped in a pinkish pale paper. Marlene opened it just as delicate as Tifa did hers, and there was a small doll and a large pink ribbon.

"Thank you, daddy!" she smiled up at him as she pulled the ribbon through her fingers to feel its velvety smoothness. Tifa helped tie it into her hair around her braid. She thanked Barrett again and hugged him with the new doll squished between them.

"And this is for you, Denzel." Barrett held something out to the quiet boy, who had been looking down at his shoes the entire time. His head snapped up in surprise and looked at Barrett. "I hear you help Cloud out with fixing his bike sometimes. Figured you'd like this." Denzel looked down at was Barrett was holding and saw a small replica of a motorcycle in his large hand. "I didn't have time to wrap it." Barrett shrugged apologetically as Denzel gingerly took it in his hands and examined it.

The bike was black, like Fenrir, and looked similar to it too. Denzel looked back up at Barrett who was waiting for his reaction. "Th-thank you." Denzel gave him a nod and looked back down at the bike. He spun one of the wheels with his finger and watched it spin. Tifa and Cloud watched him examine the replica in his hands with faint smiles.

Cloud instantly felt guilty. They hadn't gotten Denzel much of anything besides clothes since he had arrived over a month ago. Cloud had never thought of giving the boy things to play with. Denzel seemed content with the board games he played with Marlene and Tifa's book. He had never given any indication otherwise. But still, Cloud felt guilty that Denzel didn't have any toys or things of his own; that he hadn't asked the boy if he wanted anything. Maybe Cloud could get him something for his birthday. But he came to the realization that he didn't know Denzel's birthday. Had they missed it? Cloud's feelings dropped even more into depression when a horrible thought consumed the others; that Denzel probably wouldn't make it to his next birthday.

He had almost forgotten about Denzel's sickness. The boy hadn't had an episode in days. Looking at him now, Cloud could see the black mark peeking out from under Denzel's bangs. He looked away at the window. Buying the boy toys and things wouldn't help make him better. It would just be more stuff to remind Cloud of the loss after. Cloud could already picture the small replica of the bike sitting on a lonely shelf without a boy to play with it, collecting dust, waiting to be thrown away when Cloud got sick of looking at it months after Denzel…

Cloud was instantly ashamed. He couldn't think like that. What would happen, would happen. He would cross that hard bridge when he came to it. For now, he was going to give Denzel the best chance he could at a normal life.

"I don't think we should open the bar tonight." Cloud said quietly to Tifa while Barrett explained the parts of the bike to Denzel and Marlene.

"Hm?" Tifa questioned him. "Why not?"

"Well, Barrett just got here. We should celebrate. If we open the bar, the kids will have to go upstairs for the rest of the night." Tifa pulled her mouth to one side in consideration as she looked at the others. "It's Sunday." Cloud reasoned. "We never get much business on Sunday nights anyway."

Tifa took another moment to consider, then shrugged. "Alright," she yielded. "I'll just put a 'closed' sign up." And Tifa went into the bar to do just that.

FF7FF7FF7FF7FF7FF7

Laughter was absorbed by the walls of the kitchen as Barrett finished his story of one of the many events that occurred during his trip. Tifa was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes. Cloud continued to chuckle as he took a sip from a cup of Barrett's gift to him; is "magic drink" as Barrett referred to it. Marlene giggled as she looked up at her dad. Denzel was fairly quiet. The laughter around him brought him back to the despairing thoughts about his parents from the afternoon. He tried not to think about it and enjoy the happiness around him, but something about him being happy didn't sit right with him. For some reason to Denzel, him being happy and laughing just felt… _wrong._ Like he didn't deserve to be. Like he didn't have a _right_ to be anymore.

Denzel had never heard Cloud laugh before. It was a strange, breathy sound that happened more and more as the night went on. It was a side of Cloud Denzel had never seen before. He was usually so serious, or his humor was sarcastic and dry. Subtle. But Cloud was actually cracking jokes, most of them at Barrett's expense.

"You better be careful there, Spikey." Barrett warned with a wicked grin on his face after such a joke. "I have some pretty interesting stories about you I wouldn't mind telling the kids. What about that time you had to dress as a-"

"Alright!" Cloud said over him with a warning look. "I get your point." Barrett started laughing at Cloud's reaction and the blonde scowled at him. "I've gone through every effort to forget that ridiculous night."

"Ahh, I won't forget that 'til the day I die!" Barrett cackled as he took a swig of drink.

"Forget what?" Marlene questioned.

"Nothing." Cloud muttered as his face grew red from embarrassment.

Barrett leaned over to whisper in Marlene's ear. "I'll tell you another time." He winked at her, and Marlene giggled.

"Hey," Cloud warned Barrett again. He only laughed at Cloud's expense.

"Alright," Tifa sighed as she cleared off the dessert plates in front of them all. "Time for bed, you two." She looked at Denzel and Marlene.

Marlene scooted off her chair and gave her dad a hug. "Goodnight, daddy." She kissed him on his cheek.

"Goodnight, baby." Barrett kissed her on her head. Marlene then went around to Tifa to hug her, then gave Cloud a hug.

"Goodnight, Marlene." He said to her quietly when she wished him a goodnight.

"Goodnight, Denzel." Tifa made a point to wish him a goodnight as well.

He nodded once. "Goodnight," he said to all of them, then looked at Barrett. "Thanks…for the bike."

"No problem, kid." Barrett gave him a toothy smile.

Denzel followed Marlene up the stairs towards their room. "Cloud seemed different tonight," he told Marlene. "I've never heard him laugh before."

"That's because he had his magic drink!" she explained to him when they were in their room. "Cloud is always a little happier when he has it." Marlene opened her drawer and took out her pajamas. "Daddy says it helps him forget the bad stuff for a little while."

"What bad stuff?" Denzel questioned as he retrieved his own sleepwear from his drawer.

Marlene shrugged. "Daddy and Cloud have been through a lot. Tifa too. A lot of bad stuff as happened to them."

"And that drink makes him forget it?"

Marlene shook her head. "It just makes it hurt less for a little while. That's what daddy says, anyway." Marlene left for the bathroom with her pink pajamas in hand, leaving Denzel to stand by his bed in thought.

Cloud, Tifa, and Barrett were quiet for a moment after Marlene and Denzel had gone upstairs. They sat there nursing their drinks for a few minutes in silence.

"He seems like a good kid," Barrett gestured to the stairs where the children had disappeared up after a long swig of his drink. "He's quiet."

"He doesn't say much." Tifa nodded. "The first few days here, he didn't say a word. We didn't even know his name."

"How old is he?"

"Eight." Cloud answered. Barrett nodded again and he took another drink.

"What about his parents?"

Tifa shook her head. "We don't know. He hasn't said anything about them, but I doubt they're…" she faltered.

"He's probably an orphan," Cloud finished for her. Barrett grunted and shook his head.

"Poor kid. How long has he had the stigma?"

Cloud shrugged. "He had it when we took him in. He's been with us for over a month."

"Really? From what I've heard, it's usually four weeks after the first signs that it starts taking lives. He looks like he's doing really well for someone who's had it for over a month."

"He tries not to let it hinder him." Tifa said quietly. "He's actually gotten better since he first came here. When Cloud found him, he was starving and alone. He had practically already given up. But he's healthier now."

"But it won't last." Cloud thought back to his imagined picture of Denzel's bike replica sitting on the shelf collecting dust, and he took another drink of the burning liquid. They were all quiet again, and the silence was dense.

"So how long are you staying, Barrett?" Tifa changed the subject.

"Only a few days. I have to head back out the day after next."

"How's your search for renewable energy going?" Cloud questioned. Ever since Meteor, Barrett had been on a quest to research alternate sources of energy besides mako energy and using the Lifestream like the Shinra corporation had done.

"We've had a few leads, but nothing as efficient as Shinra's methods. That's why I'm going to see these scientists at this fancy lab in some town west of here. Apparently they have something. My man there told me it was worth taking a look at."

The three old comrades continued talking and catching up until the late hours of the night. Finally, Cloud said goodnight as Tifa started laying out blankets for Barrett to sleep on the couch since they didn't have a spare room. He had slept on it several times in the past, and Tifa still wondered how Barrett's large body could find a comfortable position on the tiny thing. Still, Tifa would come downstairs to find him snoring away on it, not hindered at all.

As Cloud entered his room, he thought about the mixed feelings of the day. He thought about Marlene's smiling face and Denzel's quiet "thank you" for his gift from Barrett. Cloud sighed as he thought about the boy. He opened the drawer of his work desk and pulled out the small silver key to the upper cabinet in the kitchen where he stored his gift from Barrett. He tossed the key into the drawer on top of the papers and closed it with a click. He heard a creak from behind him, and Cloud turned to see Denzel standing in the hallway.

"Hey," Cloud said, surprised the boy was still up. "Something wrong?"

Denzel shook his head, eyes to the floor. "I just needed a drink of water." And he went into the bathroom. Cloud heard Denzel return to his room after a minute or two, and Cloud started getting ready for bed.

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And here we are! Thanks so much for reading, you guys! Reviews and suggestions are always welcome! Thank you so much!

-Teni


	11. Chapter 11

Hey guys! Teni here.

So here's the next chapter. Hope you guys like. Let me know if you have any suggestions or comments. I know some of you have been asking about adding a little Cloud/Tifa tender moments, and I'm working on it. It'll be in the next few chapter, so just hang in there! Haha.

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Barrett was startled as Tifa flew from her seat at the kitchen table. "Denzel?" she called worriedly into the living room as she saw Denzel standing hunched over with his hands covering his forehead. Marlene squeezed her father's arm from her seat on his knee as Barrett watched Tifa kneel down next to the boy. "Denzel!" she whispered to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Denzel moaned in pain and Barrett watched his body tremble. Tifa withdrew her rag from her back pocket and pressed it onto Denzel's forehead where the black substance oozed from the mark there.

"Cloud!" Tifa called to the stairs. Within seconds Cloud was descending the steps with quick footfalls. He waited one moment to take in the sight, then he immediately went to Denzel's side and knelt down beside him.

"It's okay, Denzel." Cloud spoke quietly to the boy as Tifa hurried into the laundry room next to the door leading into the garage.

"Is there anything I can do?" Barrett offered, prepared to lift Marlene off his lap.

"No," Tifa shook her head with a sigh. "It's alright. We've got it." And she disappeared into the laundry room. Within a few seconds she was hurrying back into the living room with a towel in her hands.

"Just sit down, Denzel." Cloud told the boy. He obeyed, and with a little help from Cloud, Denzel sat down on the floor where he was. Tifa laid the towel around the back of his neck and held the loose ends up to Denzel's forehead. Denzel gasped in pain and his body shuttered.

"Shhh," Tifa hushed him. "It's almost over."

Barrett watched the scene unfold as Marlene held onto him. He watched Tifa rub soothing circles on the boy's back and Cloud grip Denzel's blackened hand with his own. Barrett's own grip around Marlene tightened slightly. He looked down at his daughter and saw her large doe eyes fixed on the scene. She was looking at an ugly reality, but she didn't seem afraid. There was worry in her eyes, but it was calm. She was used to this. She was used to watching this happen and she knew Cloud and Tifa were always there to help Denzel.

Denzel's grip on Cloud's hand lessened and his groans quieted. After a moment his hand reached up to the towel Tifa was holding up to his head. He grabbed it and gently pulled it away from his face.

"Are you okay?" Tifa asked, looking into his eyes. He looked exhausted, but he nodded once. Tifa used a clean corner of the towel to wipe away the black on his face. It only seemed to smudge it. Marlene leapt off her dad's lap and ran to the kitchen sink to wet a dish towel hanging there. After it was properly damp, Marlene ran it to Tifa.

"Here you go, Tifa." She held out the wet rag. Tifa took it with thanks and dabbed at Denzel's forehead. It proved to work better than the dry towel at getting the black ooze off Denzel's skin. He sat there quietly, being held up by Cloud, as Tifa worked to wipe away any evidence of the episode.

"Do you feel dizzy?" Cloud asked him after Tifa finished wiping his face. None of the black substance had gotten on Denzel's clothes, so he didn't need to change.

"Just tired." Denzel shrugged, his voice hoarse.

"C'mon," Cloud told him as he gathered Denzel up into his arms. Cloud lifted Denzel up and brought him over to the couch. He gently lowered him onto the cushions and pulled a blanket over him as the boy blinked sleepily. He looked a bit clammy, but nothing more than that. It hadn't lasted long. Denzel turned onto his side, burying his face into the couch cushion, and flinched once at the residual pain. "Anything you need?" Cloud asked. Denzel shook his head, his eyes still closed. Cloud placed a hand on Denzel's shoulder, giving it a small squeeze, then made his way into the kitchen where Barrett was still seated. Cloud slid the door almost all the way closed behind him. Then, noticing the black on his hands, went to the sink in the laundry room to wash it off.

"He okay?" Barrett asked Tifa as she retook her seat at the kitchen table.

"He gets really tired after an episode." She explained. "But that one wasn't as bed. Sometimes he passes out." Tifa looked down at her mug of tea that was still sitting there. It had cooled now, but she took a drink of it anyway. Cloud entered the kitchen and pulled up a chair to sit down. Everyone was quiet for a moment.

"I was planning on taking Marlene out today." Barrett told them. "I was going to ask Denzel if he wanted to join us, but…" he trailed off.

"He'll be out for most of the day now." Cloud shook his head.

"You two should go." Tifa urged Barrett. "You're leaving tomorrow, aren't you? You should go out with Marlene."

Barrett looked down at his daughter. "Still want to go out?" Marlene smiled and nodded. "Alright," Barrett gave her his signature toothy grin. "Let's go then!"

"Let me get my shoes!" Marlene hopped off his lap and hurried out of the kitchen to go up the stairs.

Barrett smiled after her, then turned to Cloud and Tifa. "Anything you two need while I'm out?"

Cloud shook his head as Tifa answered, "We're fine."

Barrett nodded and looked at Denzel sleeping on the couch from the door. "He's a brave kid."

Tifa smiled at Barrett, nodding, while Cloud looked at his hands resting on the table. Marlene came back down wearing her pink shoes and Barrett and his daughter left. Cloud and Tifa were still seated at the table in silence. Tifa nursed her lukewarm tea while Cloud continued to stare at his hands. She knew Cloud wanted to say something. He had that look on his face. His eyebrows were pulled together in thought and his mouth twitched every so often working up the courage to speak. Tifa waited patiently for him to get his thoughts in order and finally say something. She knew he would find out how to say what he wanted to say in his own time.

It had been several days since Denzel's last episode. Cloud had almost forgotten about it like he had done the day before when Barrett gave the boy his gift. Cloud thought he had adequately reminded himself of this harsh reality yesterday, but Denzel's episode had given him a real wakeup call. He hadn't realized how close he had gotten with the boy. He hadn't realized how vulnerable he had made himself in just the last week or so of spending time with the kid.

"I'm going to be taking on more deliveries." Cloud finally spoke. "It might mean I'm away for longer when I make them. Maybe days at a time. I've been getting more calls from farther away and I think it'll be better for business if I take them." Cloud looked up at Tifa. "Do you think you can handle things by yourself while I'm not here?"

"No." Tifa shook her head immediately.

"You can take the kids with you while you go out, or leave them here. Marlene's been home by herself plenty of times."

"No, don't do this, Cloud."

"Do what?" Cloud shot an annoyed look at her.

"You know what. Don't pull away. Not now. Not when Denzel is finally starting to open up."

"I'm not pulling away; I'm just taking more deliveries."

"To get away from here! To hide from this!" Tifa said loudly. Before Cloud could argue back there was a stir from the other room. Cloud and Tifa both froze, their eyes shooting to the living room. They watched Denzel adjust his position in his sleep then still. His breathing was steady and deep, still sleeping.

"How are we going to do this, Tifa?" Cloud sighed. His voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. "When he gets worse, and we have to watch him die – "

"Cloud," Tifa shook her head.

"How are we supposed to do that?" he looked up at her with his glowing blue eyes.

"We talked about this," Tifa gently reminded him. "We knew he was – "

"When he dies how are we supposed to watch that happen?" Cloud pressed.

Tifa opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again. Cloud saw the tears in her eyes as she thought about that horrible reality, but he didn't look away. He needed an answer. He needed to hear _her_ answer.

Tifa looked up at him, tears brimming, and shook her head. "I don't know," she said honestly. "I don't know Cloud, but I know that we can't let our fears of what will happen keep us from being there for him."

Cloud sighed as he stood from his chair. "This is exactly what I knew would happen. What I didn't _want_ to happen."

"You think I didn't know it too?" Tifa hissed quietly. "You're not the only one who knows what Geostigma does. I know, Marlene knows, _Denzel_ knows!" Tifa rose from her chair. "I know this is going to be hard. I know one day he'll be okay, and the next he won't be. I know that when it happens it'll hurt a lot, and that's scary." She took a step closer to Cloud. "But don't you think Denzel's just as scared, if not more? He's the one who's dying, Cloud. He _can't_ run from this." Tifa placed a hand on Cloud's arm. He had been looking at the floor while she talked to him.

"Look at me." She told him, giving his arm a squeeze. His blue eyes looked up at her. "I know you're scared." She whispered to him. "And I know he's grown on you, so stop acting like it's about protecting Marlene and I. You care about him too, and I know that wasn't what you intended. But don't pull back like this, because if you do, Denzel will think it's his fault."

"But I…" Cloud started, then faltered. He sighed, closing his eyes, then opened them again. "I'm sorry." He told her.

"It's okay." She replied. "It's okay to be scared about it sometimes. But that doesn't mean we should let it stop us from caring about each other. We're a family, right?"

Cloud looked up at Tifa to see her hopeful smile. He nodded once and her smile broadened. Tifa let go of him and grabbed her half empty mug of tea. She poured it down the drain and started washing the cup.

"I'll be upstairs," Cloud told her as he left the kitchen, trying not to let his frightened thoughts rule his mind.

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There you have it! Cloud was sort of starting to take a step backwards there, but Tifa was there to push him forward. I mean, that's gotta be hard. Cloud's right on the edge of wanting to be there for Denzel, but still afraid of what'll happen.

Thanks for reading, and as always, suggestions welcome/reviews!

-Teni


	12. Chapter 12

Hey guys!

So this chapter is quite a bit longer than the other chapters. I've found that the chapters have gradually been getting longer the more I get on with this story. Is everyone okay with that? Ha. I just really didn't want to break up this specific sequence and leave you all hanging, so I put it all into one chapter. Thanks for reading and I hope it makes you laugh, and possibly cry (don't worry, nothing bad happens. Well...not what you're thinking. Denzel's alive. I mean, of course he's alive. He's in Advent Children and this is set before that. Anywhooo...). I had a lot of fun writing this one, so I hope you have just as much fun reading it. Let me know what you think! Reviews/suggestions always welcome!

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Barrett left the next morning in the early hours just as the sun was rising. He had to catch an early train out of the Edge and through the other side of Midgar. Cloud, Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel all woke up early to see him off.

"Bye, daddy." Marlene gave him a big hug.

"Bye, pumpkin. You be a good girl, okay?" he lifted her into his arms to give her a huge hug. Marlene nodded as she wrapped her arms tighter around his neck. Barrett set her down after a minute and turned to Cloud and Tifa.

"Thank you, again, for taking care of her. I just need to finish this before I can have any peace of mind." Barrett explained.

"We'll always be willing to look out for her," Tifa insisted as she gave Barrett a hug. Barrett turned to Cloud and shook his hand, crushing it slightly.

"I'll be sure to bring back some more of your magic drink, alright Spikey?" Barrett grinned.

Cloud smirked and rolled his eyes. "Sure thing, Barrett."

Barrett gave a boisterous laugh, and then bent down to Denzel so he was at eye level with the boy. "You take care of Marlene for me, alright?" Denzel nodded. "And make sure you look after these two also," Barrett gestured to Cloud and Tifa. "They need you just as much as you need them, you hear?"

Denzel looked up at Tifa, who was smiling at him, and Cloud, who had a faint smirk on his face from Barrett's statement. Denzel looked back to Barrett, whose face was absolutely serious. "Sure," Denzel nodded. Barrett's face broke into another grin.

"Alright then." Barrett nodded to the boy, and he straightened again. "I'll be back soon, so don't get too comfortable without me around. Got it?"

This time, both Cloud and Tifa rolled their eyes as Barrett stepped out the door and onto the sidewalk.

"I love you, daddy!" Marlene called after him.

"I love you too, pumpkin!" Barrett waved at her as he walked down the street. Denzel watched the exchange and started to feel the twinge of the pain he had felt a few days earlier when Barrett first arrived. Before letting the feelings consume him, Denzel set his jaw and turned to Marlene.

"Hey Marlene, want to play hide-and-go-seek?" Denzel suggested. Marlene looked at him once Barrett had rounded the corner.

"Yeah," she smiled.

"I don't know about you two, but I'm going back to sleep," Tifa stated as she closed the door and locked it. It was still pretty early in the morning. "So play quietly," she warned them with a smile. As Tifa went upstairs, Cloud moved into the kitchen to start making breakfast.

"What are the rules?" Marlene asked Denzel. The rules for their hide-and-seek games always changed depending on how they felt like playing. Sometimes, the other was only allowed to hide on the first floor, sometimes the second, sometimes both. Other times there was a "safe zone" the hider could go to and not be caught by the seeker. For some reason, it was always the top of the dryer in the laundry room.

"How about," Denzel thought for a moment, "upstairs and downstairs, no safe zone."

"Okay!" Marlene agreed.

"I'll be the seeker and then we'll switch. I'll count upstairs in our bedroom."

"Close the door so you can't see or hear if I want to hide upstairs," Marlene added. "And count to thirty!" Denzel rolled his eyes, but agreed with a nod. Satisfied, Marlene turned to Cloud. "Do you want to play with us, Cloud?" Marlene asked.

A smile twitched on Cloud's face as he melted a slice of butter in the frying pan for eggs. "I think I'm too big to play," Cloud told her. "There's not many places I could hide."

"Oh, okay." Marlene shrugged, and she turned to Denzel. "Ready?" Denzel nodded.

"Hey," Cloud got their attention before they took off. The kids turned to look at him. "No hiding in the cellar, garage, or Tifa's room. She's trying to sleep." The kids nodded. "And no hiding outside," he added.

Denzel rolled his eyes and smiled slightly. "Yeah, we know that, Cloud. We've played this before." Cloud was surprised at how casual Denzel's response was. Usually when the boy talked, he was very guarded. Everything he said came with a strain or wariness to it. But the statement he had given just then was so…normal. So average for a boy of his age. Cloud shook his head in amazement at the boy as Denzel hurried up the stairs to begin counting. Marlene didn't move until she heard the door to their bedroom close, and then she was off.

Cloud focused on making breakfast while Denzel and Marlene played a few rounds of hide-and-seek. When breakfast was finally ready, Cloud placed the scrambled eggs and toasted bread on the table.

"After this round, come eat breakfast," Cloud told Marlene, who was hiding under the table.

"Shh!" Marlene shushed him. "You're going to give me away!"

"Sorry." Cloud rolled his eyes. He left Marlene in the kitchen and headed up the stairs. Tifa's door to her room was still closed, and to door to the kid's bedroom was open, which meant Denzel was done counting. Cloud was about to enter his office when he saw Denzel racing out of it, almost running into the Ex-SOLDIER.

"Hey!" Cloud said sternly as he caught Denzel by the shoulder, who looked startled. "What were you doing in there?"

Denzel got over his startled state and looked up at Cloud. "Looking for Marlene," he said quickly.

Cloud sighed. "Try not to play in there. That's my office. I don't want anything messed up."

"Sorry." Denzel said instantly. Cloud nodded at his apology and let go of his shoulder. Denzel moved passed him and was about to go down the stairs when Cloud said his name. Denzel turned back to look at Cloud.

"Marlene's hiding under the table in the kitchen." Cloud gave him a small smile. A smile of his own broke out over Denzel's face and he nodded to Cloud in thanks, then he hurried down the stairs. A few seconds later in his office, Cloud heard Marlene's surprised voice.

"How did you know?!"

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That night, Cloud's eyes flew open as the crash of breaking glass from downstairs reached his ears. In less than a second he was up and alert, reaching for his Buster Sword in the corner. He moved into the hallway with quiet steps to be met by Tifa exiting her bedroom in a white camisole and shorts. They looked at each other for a split second before heading down the stairs as quick as possible. There was a clattering of wooden furniture and a frustrated growl from someone in the kitchen. Cloud was the first one in, and he turned on the lights to illuminate a sight he had not been expecting.

Denzel was standing in the kitchen, his face red, grappling the counter to keep himself steady. There was broken glass all over the floor. Cloud set his sword against the wall as Tifa looked at Denzel. "What is going on?" she immediately approached the boy, carefully avoiding the bits of glass. Denzel wiped his eyes as Tifa knelt down in front of him. "Hey," Tifa tried to pull his hands away from his eyes, but Denzel yanked his hands out of her grip. "Denzel!" Tifa tried to see his face as she fought with him to pull his hands down. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Denzel finally yanked his arms down to reveal his tears. "She lied!" Denzel shouted at her. Tifa tried to quiet him, but Denzel ignored her. "She lied! She said it would make them go away!"

"Who lied?" Tifa asked.

"Marlene!" Denzel cried. "She said it would make them go away! It's only making them worse!"

"Denzel," Tifa placed her hands on his arms. "Just calm down. Tell me, what's wrong." As Tifa dealt with Denzel, Cloud noticed the familiar bottle sitting on the kitchen table, uncapped. He immediately went over to it.

"She said it would make the bad memories go away. I just wanted them to go away!" Denzel told Tifa.

Cloud looked down at the bottle Barrett had given him and then back to Denzel. "You didn't." he said sternly.

"You're damn right, I did!" Denzel yelled at Cloud, swaying a little.

"You're drunk!" Cloud told him, grabbing the cap to the bottle of alcohol and screwing it on.

Tifa's head snapped to Cloud. "What?!" Her eyes moved to the bottle. "You have to be kidding me, Cloud! You left that stuff _out?"_

"No! It was –" Cloud broke off. It was locked up. Cloud always locked his stupid gifts from Barrett away! "How did you get this?" Cloud demanded, looking at Denzel as he held the bottle up. Denzel let out a bark of a laugh, and then kept giggling. Not getting a response, Cloud looked up to the cabinet he always kept his drink in to find the door open, his silvery key winking at him from its place in the lock. There was a kitchen chair up against the counter. Denzel must have used it to reach the high cabinet. Cloud looked back at Denzel, who had tears running down his cheeks. Denzel had been in his room earlier in the day when the two kids were playing hide-and-seek. Had Denzel stolen the key? How had Denzel even known where the key was? Another memory surfaced of Cloud tossing the key in the drawer the night Barrett arrived, and then turning to see Denzel looking at him from the hallway. Had Denzel been planning on taking the key?

"How much did he drink, Cloud?!" Tifa demanded. Cloud looked at the bottle. It looked to be the same volume as he remembered from the last time he had the drink. Maybe an inch or two lower.

"He couldn't've had more than a few mouthfuls." Cloud told her, still fuming. "God, damn it, Denzel!" Cloud turned to him. "This stuff could kill you!"

Denzel shrugged out of Tifa's grip and turned to Cloud. "Well what do you care?!" he shouted. "It's not like I'll be around much longer anyway!"

"Denzel!" Tifa grabbed his arm.

"It's true!" Denzel cried through his tears. "It doesn't matter! I just wanted to forget! I wanted to make the bad memories go away like they do Cloud!"

Cloud set the bottle back down on the table and noticed a photograph there. He picked it up and examined it. It was torn on one edge. It was a photo he'd never seen before. There were two strangers smiling up at him through the dirt and folds on the picture, and there was Denzel sitting in between them, his face a little rounder than Cloud had ever seen it, and a smile so big it looked cartoonish on Denzel's usually solemn face. As Cloud examine the strangers again, he could see which traits of the man and woman Denzel had inherited.

"Why isn't it _working_?" Denzel shoved Tifa's arm away and moved away from her.

"Denzel, be careful!" Tifa warned him of the glass still on the floor.

"It's just making them worse! Why?" and he kicked one of the kitchen chairs. "Why, why, why!" he kicked the chair with each question, but the last kick made him stumble, and he fell to the ground into the shards of glass. Denzel gasped and everyone was frozen. "Ow," he breathed as he moved his bare arm from the ground, the underside of it dripping with blood. Cloud moved to Denzel and knelt down next to him. Tifa handed him the kitchen towel draped by the sink and hurried upstairs to grab the first aid kit, carefully avoiding the glass again.

"Don't move," Cloud told him as he placed the cloth gently on Denzel's arm.

"Ow!" Denzel yelled, trying to pull away.

"Knock it off!" Cloud scolded him as he pulled Denzel's arm closer to him to examine it. There were a few small pieces of glass embedded in the soft fleshy skin of Denzel's underarm. They weren't deep, so Cloud pulled them out quickly. The other sources of blood were just scratches, and once Cloud was sure all the glass was gone, he placed the towel over the wounds and applied pressure.

"That hurts!" Denzel told him.

"Well, if you didn't go and break into my cabinet, none of this would have happened." Cloud told him.

"If the upper plate of Sector 7 hadn't dropped, none of this would have happened." Denzel spat back.

Cloud's eyes snapped to Denzel. He had no idea what to say or feel. Should he be angry? Sad? Apologetic? He looked at the scowl on Denzel's face. "Where are your parents?" Cloud asked him. Denzel looked away at the floor, ignoring him. "Where are they?" Cloud snatched the picture from the table and held it in front of Denzel. "Where are your parents, Denzel?"

"They're dead, okay?" he finally answered, glaring at Cloud. Being drunk certainly gave the boy more courage than he ever showed during the day. And more attitude. "They died when the plate dropped." Denzel added before Cloud had to ask.

Cloud went back to putting pressure on the wound as he thought. Denzel had been made an orphan when the plate dropped? That meant Denzel had been on his own, without parents, for almost two years. Cloud was about to ask him how he had survived all this time, but Tifa reentered the kitchen with the first aid kit and they went to work on patching Denzel up.

Denzel didn't need stitches, but Tifa put butterfly bandages on the deeper cuts to close them up properly. Cloud wrapped his arm in gauze as Tifa swept up all the glass, which had been a cup before Denzel had knocked it over in his drunkenness. By the time the kitchen was back in order and Denzel tended to, the boy could barely keep his eyes open.

"Let's just get him to bed and deal with this in the morning," Tifa sighed. "when he's _sober_. I'm pouring that stuff down the drain!" Tifa told Cloud as he picked Denzel up.

"Fine," Cloud sighed and he headed upstairs while Tifa uncapped Barrett's drink and poured the clear liquid into the sink.

Cloud was about to open the door to the kid's room, but hesitated. If Denzel woke up in the middle of the night having to throw up, he didn't want it to wake Marlene. According to Tifa, the little girl had woken up to all the yelling and Tifa had to urge her back to bed when she ran upstairs to get the first aid kit. Sighing, Cloud instead headed to his own room and laid Denzel down on his own bed. Cloud figured he would sleep on the couch.

"Jeez, kid." Cloud quietly spoke to the unconscious boy. "You're more trouble than I signed up for." He pulled a spare blanket over the boy and left the room, not looking forward to sleeping downstairs.

FF7FF7FF7FF7FF7

Denzel woke to a splitting headache, and for a moment, he was afraid he had woken up to an episode induced by the Stigma. But the pain in his head felt different than the usual Stigma pain, and his Geostigma had never made him nauseous. Denzel opened his eyes to the blinding light of the sun coming through the windows and he moaned.

"You up yet, kid?" he heard Cloud's voice, but it sounded so loud to him. It made his head hurt. Denzel moaned again in response. "Yeah, that's what happens when you have too much 'magic drink'." Denzel groaned as he tried to move onto his side to face away from the light, but his stomach flopped at the small movement. "Here," Cloud shoved something into his hand. "You're going to need that." Denzel opened his eyes a sliver to see a plastic bucket in his hands. "You're going to be throwing up for a few hours, so get used to it."

Denzel slowly sat up in the bed, feeling horrible. "Please don't send me away," Denzel begged in a croaky voice.

Cloud sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I'm not going to send you away. You're a part of this family, as dysfunctional as it might be. Besides," Cloud smiled "After today, I think you'll have learned your lesson. A wave of nausea hit Denzel's stomach and he groaned as he leaned over the bucket. "That's what I thought," Cloud rolled his eyes.

Denzel recovered after a moment, then straightened up again in bed. "I'm sorry I lied and stole the key," he apologized. "I just…wanted to forget the bad stuff like you do."

"I don't know how you got it into your head that alcohol makes you forget bad things that've happened to you."

"Barrett was calling it a magic drink," Denzel explained. "Marlene said he told her you drank it to forget about bad memories sometimes."

"I drink it because it makes it easier to socialize with people. It's just alcohol. There's nothing magical about it."

"I didn't know it was alcohol," Denzel told him. "I just wanted to forget."

"There's nothing in this world that can make you forget, Denzel." Cloud told him. Denzel lowered his head and looked at his hands in his lap. "And even if there was, I'd never seek it out. Even if it made me forget all the bad things that've happened to me."

Denzel looked up at Cloud. "Why not?"

Cloud was quiet for a moment before he answered. "Some of the bad things that have happened to me…they've been about people I've lost. My mother…my friends. I miss them a lot, like I'm sure you miss your parents." Denzel's eyes moved down again. "But I never want to forget about them. Missing them reminds me how much I loved them." Cloud reached into his pocket. "And I'd rather have that than never remembering them at all." Cloud held the photo of Denzel's parents out to him. Denzel took it gingerly into his fingers. "Remembering them keeps them alive." Cloud placed a hand on Denzel's shoulder.

Denzel looked up at Cloud. "Will you remember me when I'm…" he trailed off.

 _I'm not going to let that happen.,_ Cloud was about to say. He caught himself before he said it, and instead brushed Denzel's wavy locks out of his face. "You need a haircut."

Denzel shrugged. "I like it long. It hides the mark."

Cloud smirked, "Fine," and he rose from the bed. "Tifa says to stay in bed except to go to the bathroom. She'll bring up some food for you later." At the thought of food, Denzel's stomach gave a final flop and he wretched into the bucket. "Or maybe some medicine," Cloud amended, and he started to leave.

"Cloud?" Denzel called after he recovered. Cloud turned back to him. "I really am sorry."

Cloud shrugged. "It's okay, Denzel. Besides, it may have been my key you stole and my drink you had, but it really isn't me you should be apologizing to." Cloud gave him a smile. Tifa's pretty peeved." And with that, Cloud left the room. "And don't throw up on any of my stuff!" He called behind his shoulder as he went down the stairs.

* * *

"I see what you did there," some of you might be saying. "Cloud's telling Denzel the same thing Marlene told _him!"_ Yeah, isn't that funny? It's like I planned it, or something.

I think this is a pretty pivotal point in Cloud and Denzel's relationship. It's the first time we see Cloud actually thinking about trying to find a cure for Geostigma. It's just a fleeting thought in this chapter, but this will lead to him researching medicinal treatments and what-not that we know he had been doing in the recent events leading up to Advent Children.

So things are moving forward. I know some of you guys are still holding out for Cloud/Tifa tender moments, and don't worry! They're on their way! I haven't forgotten!

Thanks again for reading, and reviews/suggestions are always welcome! Let me know what you think! I always love reading your reviews and responses. Anytime I get unfocused or hit a minor roadblock or don't know what to write next, I look at your reviews and they give me a boost to keep writing! So seriously, thank you for them!

-Teni


	13. Chapter 13

Hey guys!

So here's the next chapter! Hope you like.

I'm running into a bit of a snafoo here, though. So I know I've been getting new reviews for this story because the number of reviews has been going up, but every time I go to look at them, it only shows the reviews from my first few chapters. I'm trying to get this fixed so I can see the incoming reviews, but I think it's going to take some time. Don't stop sending them, though! If I don't answer any question you might post it isn't because I'm ignoring you, it's just because I can't quite see it. I'll try to get this fixed as soon as possible.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading! You guys have been awesome! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

As Cloud had warned him, Denzel spent most of the day sick to his stomach. He apologized to Tifa when she came up with some medicine and a glass of water for him. She accepted, but was still fuming at Cloud, which the Ex-SOLDIER didn't quite understand. For the rest of the day she seemed to be giving him the cold shoulder. Cloud payed her in kind with his own silence. They hardly spoke to each other.

A small part of Cloud wanted to apologize. He wanted to smooth things over. He hated when Tifa was mad at him, because she was an expert at making it subtle. He just had no idea what he was supposed to apologize for. Was she mad at him for having the drink around? That couldn't be it. They lived in a bar for goodness sake. The children knew not to go around the stuff; it wasn't for them. It had all been a misunderstanding. How was he supposed to know the kid was going to take the name "magic drink" literally? He hadn't come up with the name himself. Barrett had called it that the first time he gave it to him. It was just a joke he and Barret shared, Barrett more than him.

To avoid Tifa, Cloud spent the day in the garage working on Fenrir. He had another delivery coming up he needed to prepare for. He was going to be making a detour on it to pick up a few things for himself he had quietly ordered from one of his suppliers. It was going to take a bit longer than he had planned on because of this. He told Tifa of his plans, letting her know the delivery was going to take a few days. At first, she opened her mouth to say something, but closed it and nodded curtly. She probably thought he was going back on his word and using his deliveries as an excuse to put distance between him and Denzel's situation, both literally and figuratively. He wanted to explain to her what he was doing, but he doubted she would listen to anything he had to say in the mood she was in.

After telling her of his plans, Cloud had gone back into the garage to finish with Fenrir. He was out there for several hours making sure his bike was in top condition for the trip. Just as he was wiping down Fenrir's outer coverings with cleaner, Cloud heard the door open leading into the garage. He looked up to see Denzel closing the door behind him and walking towards him.

"Feeling better?" Cloud asked as he went back to what he was doing.

Denzel nodded. "I stopped throwing up."

"Well that's good." Cloud gave him a small smile. "Did you eat?"

"Tifa gave me some toast." Denzel spoke as he came up on the other side of Fenrir and looked at the dials and switches near the handle bar. "Is it hard to ride Fenrir?" Denzel questioned.

"You've already ridden him, remember?" Cloud pointed out.

"I mean driving." Denzel amended as he carefully touched the grip on the handle.

"He's got a lot of kick," Cloud shrugged. "And he's pretty fast. But if you know how he handles you get used to it pretty quick." Cloud noticed Denzel's intrigue and straightened up from his bent position, tossing the cleaning rag into the toolbox at his feet. He walked around the back of Fenrir to Denzel's side. He picked the boy up and set him on the seat of the bike. Denzel steadied himself on the large seat, then looked down at the console full of screens and dials and switches, feeling slightly overwhelmed.

"There's so many buttons," Denzel observed. "How do you remember them all?"

"Most of them I don't use regularly." Cloud shrugged. "There are a few basic ones, like this one." Cloud pointed to a black switch in the lower center of the console. "That's your basic power. Press it."

Denzel looked at him. "Is it safe?"

"Sure. It's just for the console. It doesn't start the bike." Cloud assured him. Denzel looked back at the console and pressed the switch. There was a small beep as several screens turned on and multiple lights of reds, blues, yellows, and greens began flashing. "So this is your navigation," Cloud pointed to one of the screens. "These are your internal temperatures for the bike." He pointed to another screen. "It lets you know if somethings overheated." Cloud pointed to a few of the switches and lights, telling Denzel what each of them were. If Denzel didn't know what something meant, Cloud explained it to him in terms he would understand.

"What does that do?" Denzel pointed to a dull red switch Cloud hadn't explained to him yet.

Cloud took a step back before answering. "Push it."

Denzel stared at him for a moment, wondering why he had taken a step back, then Denzel hit the red switch.

Startled at the wings shooting out of the sides of Fenrir, Denzel jumped in his seat, giving a little gasp. He heard Cloud's breathy laugh in his haze of fright, and turned to the blonde-haired man. Seeing Cloud's smile, Denzel couldn't help but smile too at his own reaction. He looked at the wings that had extended, only to realize they weren't wings at all. Inside the apex of each extended "wing" were three slots. They were empty though.

"What are these?" Denzel questioned as Cloud approached again.

"They're storage," Cloud told him. "For my swords."

"Your swords?"

"Mm-hmm." Cloud nodded.

Denzel looked again at the extended portions and examined the slots. "You have six swords?" Denzel questioned.

"They can interlock into one sword, but I like to keep them separate. If they stay locked together for a long time they can become hard to take apart."

"Huh," Denzel nodded as he looked at the hidden storage. Cloud leaned over and hit the red switch again, and the compartments snapped closed, looking seamless again. "Why do you need so many swords? Is making deliveries dangerous?"

Cloud hesitated before he answered. "It's always best to be prepared. Sometimes I make deliveries to places that might be dangerous to get to, but that's why they ask me; because I'm good at getting the job done."

"Wouldn't it be easier to just not take that job?"

"Probably," Cloud admitted. "But some of those places, because they're hard to get to, lack basic things like medicine and supplies. If no one delivers them, how are they going to get the things they need to survive?"

Denzel looked down at the console again, examining the navigation screen. "Is that why your next delivery is going to take a longer time? Because it's going to someplace dangerous?" the boy asked quietly.

Cloud looked at Denzel. So Tifa had told him. "It's a little farther than my usual deliveries."

"But is it dangerous?" Denzel still looked down at the console, not making eye contact with Cloud.

Was Denzel worried about him? Cloud was a little surprised at this thought, not because he thought Denzel didn't care about him, but because Denzel was actually voicing his concerns. Cloud thought about the area he would be heading to. The delivery itself wasn't to a dangerous area, but his detour to pick up his own delivery was going through some questionable territory.

"Nothing I can't handle," Cloud decided to tell him. He thought this answer would put Denzel's mind at ease, but the boy still looked worried.

"Is it because of me?" he blurted. "Of what I did? Is that why you're going away?" Denzel looked up at Cloud.

"Hey," Cloud said instantly. "I'm not 'going away.' I'm just making a delivery."

"But what if you don't come back?" Denzel asked, tears starting to form in his eyes. "What if something happens? What if you end up like my mom and dad – ?"

"Denzel," Cloud placed his hands on the boy's shoulders to quiet him. "It's going to be alright. I'm only leaving for a few days. I'll be back soon. Nothing's going to happen, okay?"

Denzel looked down at his hands. "But that's what my dad said." Cloud looked at Denzel, waiting for him to continue. "On the night the plate dropped, he said he was going to find my mom, and that he would be back soon. That everything would be okay. But it wasn't. He didn't come back, and neither did my mom."

Cloud sighed, understanding the source of the boy's fear. "Hey," he pulled Denzel's chin up to look at him. "That's not going to happen. I promise." _I'm doing this to help you,_ Cloud thought. Denzel still looked like he didn't believe him, so Cloud released Denzel's shoulders and took off his work gloves. "Here," he said, taking off his Fenrir ring. "I want you to have this." Denzel watched as Cloud removed his wolf ring from his middle finger and pressed it into his own palm. The ring looked huge in his own tiny hand. It would never fit on any of his fingers. "I'll come back for this," Cloud told him. "So take good care of it while I'm gone. And from now on, any time I have to leave, you'll hold onto this for me. Okay?"

Denzel looked up at Cloud, whose glowing eyes were serious. "Okay," Denzel nodded, deciding to trust his words.

* * *

So there you have it.

Anyone think they know what Cloud could be picking up for himself on this delivery? He said it was to help Denzel, but what could it be...?

Ha. If you think you know, take a guess at it and send it my way! You won't win a prize or anything, though. Haha. You'll just be recognized as a loyal fan!

Thanks again for reading!

-Teni


	14. Chapter 14

Hey guys, Teni here.

Yes, I am still alive. I'm so sorry I dropped off the face of the earth for the last few weeks. Since I've been home there's been so much going on every day (all good things). I've just been spending time with family and kayaking and yard work, which are all awesome things, but they just leave me so tired and without much energy. Even though I didn't have much energy to write, that doesn't mean I didn't have energy to think of future ideas for this story. There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think about this story and the plans I have for future chapters. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post this chapter. But here it is! Thank you so much for being so patient with me! You guys are great! Enjoy, and please review!

* * *

"Hey," Denzel woke to Tifa's voice. He stirred and turned to face her. She was leaning down next to his bed. By the darkness of the room, he could tell it was still early. Just before sunrise. "Cloud's going to be leaving in a few minutes. Do you want to come downstairs to see him off?" Denzel nodded as he breathed deeply, still half asleep. Tifa nodded and moved around his bed to wake Marlene from her own slumber. As Tifa coaxed the little girl from her sleep Denzel sat up and rubbed his face being careful not to touch or agitate the black mark on his forehead.

It took Denzel and Marlene a few minutes to get dressed. Tifa helped Marlene get ready, who was standing upright, but practically still asleep. Despite Marlene being a bright child during the day, mornings did not bode well for her. Getting her up in the morning was the one time Marlene ever gave Cloud and Tifa any trouble. She was cranky and sometimes fussy. During the school year she tended to test the patience of both her caregivers, not wanting to sit still for her hair to be brushed by Tifa or her socks and shoes to be put on by Cloud. After breakfast however, she was usually fully awake and back to her sweet self.

This morning, despite the hour being by far earlier than usual for her, even for her early wake up during school, Marlene's crankiness was fairly subdued. As Tifa finished braiding her hair, Marlene rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, yawning for the fifth time that morning. Already finished with getting ready, Denzel grabbed Cloud's ring from his night table next to the damaged picture of his parents and made his way downstairs.

Cloud was seated at the bar with a bowl of oatmeal in front of him and a box of raisins to the side. He chewed quietly as he went over the list of orders he needed to pick up from Kalm. All his orders came in through Kalm. He would have to drive there, load the orders, then make the deliveries. He had to go over the list to make sure everything was accounted for.

Cloud looked up from his list when Denzel entered the bar after retrieving a bowl of oatmeal from the kitchen. He gave him a quiet nod in greeting before looking back down at his list. Denzel walked around behind Cloud and took the barstool on his left. He reached over and grabbed the box of raisins to pour some into his own bowl. The two quietly ate their breakfast together. Denzel knew Cloud was focusing and didn't want to distract him.

"Need anything while I'm out?" Cloud asked after a few minutes of silence. Denzel thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"Not really."

"You sure?" Cloud raised an eyebrow in question.

"Well, you already gave me this." Denzel pulled out Cloud's ring from his pocket. Cloud shrugged in agreement.

"If you change your mind, just call. Tifa has my number hanging on the board by the stairs."

"Okay," Denzel looked to the board by the stairs and saw several notes and papers hanging from it. He would have to see which one was Cloud's, not the he would have any need for it.

Marlene and Tifa made their way downstairs a few minutes later. Tifa gave Marlene oatmeal with brown sugar added to it and she ate it sleepily. When Cloud finished with his breakfast he put his dishes into the sink and went into the garage to get Fenrir ready. Denzel finished his breakfast soon after and moved to put his dish in the sink as well.

"What's this, Denzel?" Tifa asked as she picked up the silver ring from the bar counter where Denzel had left it.

"Oh, that's Cloud's ring," Denzel explained. "He told me I could hold onto it while he's away. He promised he would come back for it.

Baffled, Tifa looked from the ring to Denzel. "He said that?"

"Yeah," Denzel nodded. Setting his bowl back down on the counter, he moved to Tifa. She looked back down at the ring. Denzel noticed how wide her eyes were. She looked shocked, like what she was holding was the most precious jewel in the world. Her expression then softened and a small smile pulled at her lips as she now looked lovingly at the ring. "Tifa?" Denzel questioned. At first, she didn't seem to hear him, but before he had to call her name again she blinked out of her trance and held the ring out to Denzel, giving it back to him with a smile.

"I know you'll take good care of it for him. That ring's pretty special."

"What makes it special?" Denzel examined the ring, looking at it as if he would be able to physically see its specialty.

Tifa smiled down at Denzel. "Because he gave it to _you."_

Denzel gave her one of his rare smiles as he turned the ring over in his fingers. "It doesn't fit though," he shrugged.

Tifa pulled her lips to the side in thought. "Wait here," she told him, and she went into the kitchen. Denzel watched her rummage through one of the drawers that held random items like paperclips, rubber bands, and flashlights. Denzel watched her withdraw some items and return to Denzel, setting the items on the bar counter. Denzel watched as Tifa unrolled a length of a brown cord, then cut it with the pair of scissors she had. "Here," Tifa knelt down in front of Denzel with the cord. She gently pulled the ring from between his fingers and looped the cord through it. Denzel watched Tifa tie the ends of the cord together. "See?" Tifa held up the finished result. "Now you don't have to worry about losing it." Tifa pulled the make-shift necklace over Denzel's head. The ring now rested at Denzel's chest, secured by the brown cord it was looped through.

Denzel looked down at the ring winking at him from its new place. "Thanks!" Denzel smiled even broader. He looked up at Tifa and then, after a few seconds of contemplation, wrapped his arms around Tifa and hugged her. Tifa returned the hug with a bit of surprise. She was touched that Denzel was hugging her. She was aware of her mind traveling to the disturbing thought that the last person he hugged was probably his parents. Before she could let her mind travel too far down that dark road however, she caught herself. _Don't spoil this._ She scolded herself. _This is a happy moment._

As if to prove this to herself, Tifa moved her hands and tickled Denzel at his sides. She heard the boy's laugh as he squirmed away from her. Tifa straightened from her knelt position and spoke to Denzel, "Do you mind washing your dishes and keeping an eye on Marlene? I need to go into the garage for a minute."

"Sure," Denzel nodded as he picked up his bowl again and moved to the kitchen sink. Tifa moved passed him and let herself into the garage.

Tifa closed the door behind her as she entered, and saw Cloud loading his swords into their correct slots in Fenrir's storage unit. "Hey," Tifa greeted him quietly.

Cloud looked at her warily, then looked back to what he was doing. "Hey."

Tifa stepped over to the other side of Fenrir opposite Cloud. She watched him slide one of his six swords into its slot. She knew why she was out here. She wanted to apologize for the way she had been acting for the last few days. When Cloud had told her about his sudden delivery, she thought he was running; using his business as an excuse to get away from Denzel. All the signs had been there. He was withdrawn. The trip was sudden and long. And just a few days earlier he had been talking about taking longer trips again. She thought he was going along with it anyway even though she had told him not to. She had misjudged him, and was ashamed.

"Cloud, I-"

"I'm sorry that I didn't have the drink locked up better." Cloud blurted without looking at her. "I should have never taken it out in front of Denzel and Marlene. Denzel could have gotten seriously sick from it."

"I don't blame you for that," Tifa shook her head.

Cloud looked up at Tifa. "Isn't that what you're mad about though?"

"I'm not mad." Cloud straightened and looked at Tifa with a confused look. "I _was_ mad," Tifa admitted. "But about something else. I thought you taking this delivery all of a sudden meant you were running. But I know that's not true." Tifa looked down. "I was wrong, and I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time for the last few days."

Cloud looked at Tifa, seeing her looking so uncomfortable at admitting to being wrong, and couldn't help but smile at it. "It's okay. You actually admitting that you were wrong for once more than makes up for it."

Tifa looked at the smirk on Cloud's face and rolled her eyes with a smile. "When are you going to grow up? Honestly, it's like I take care of three kids around here instead of two."

"Well don't worry, you'll have one less kid in your hair for a few days."

"No I won't. I'll be too busy worrying about you." Tifa sighed as she leaned against Fenrir. "Three days, huh?"

"It's not like I've never done an extended delivery." Cloud tried to reason with her as he grabbed the last sword to load.

"It's not like you've never come back injured from one either." Tifa countered. "The last extended delivery you did, you came back with a broken rib. Remember that?"

Cloud smirked. He did remember that. It was a stupid mistake on his part. A chocobo had cut across in the front of Fenrir and he had to swerve to avoid it. However, at the speed he had been going at, recovering from the sudden movement had proven to be more difficult than he anticipated and he was thrown from Fenrir as a result. The chocobo was fine, but Cloud had suffered several lacerations and a broken rib. Tifa had been fretful as Cloud entered the _7th Heaven_ bloodied and wincing. Tifa had turned into a concerned mother, and Cloud felt like he had been demoted to a four-year-old coming inside after falling off his bike. She had sat him down at the kitchen table and made him tell her what happened. The whole thing had been disastrous. It had happened before Denzel had come to them and Cloud had been taking it easy after that. But this time was different. He was doing this for Denzel, not for some delivery.

"If another wild chocobo is stupid enough to cut in front of my bike again, I'll run the damn thing over." Cloud decided.

"Marlene wouldn't like that," Tifa teased him.

"Well, Marlene wouldn't have to know."

"Cloud," Tifa got his attention as he moved around the bike. Cloud stopped what he was doing and looked at her. "You will be careful…won't you?"

Cloud looked at the concern on Tifa's face. "Always," he nodded once, and he watched Tifa smile at his answer. It was amazing how relieved she looked at his words, like she believed them no matter what. Of course he would be careful. She hardly needed to ask.

"I'm going to open the garage," Cloud told her. "You should probably bring the kids out. I'll be leaving soon." Tifa nodded and moved to go back inside. "Tifa?" Cloud called to her as he pressed the button to open the garage. Tifa turned back to look at him. "How did you know," he asked, "That I wasn't running?"

Tifa shrugged. "You made a promise to Denzel, didn't you?" Cloud nodded. "Then I know you'd never break it." Tifa gave him one last smile before heading back inside.

By the time the kids were outside and Cloud was finished bringing his bike out, the sun was starting to rise, giving light to the streets. "You'll be home soon, won't you Cloud?" Marlene asked him as he took a seat on his bike.

"As soon as I can, Marlene." Cloud confirmed her statement, and she smiled. Cloud turned to Denzel and saw his ring hanging from the boy's neck. He nodded to the ring. "Remember what I said."

Denzel looked down at the ring and nodded. "I will."

"And look after them while I'm gone," Cloud motioned to Tifa and Marlene. Denzel nodded once again.

"Hold on," Tifa spoke as she grabbed something from her pocket. "I wanted to take a picture. We haven't taken one in a while." Tifa withdrew a small black camera and held it up. "Get close."

Cloud sighed, not ever wanting to take pictures, but gave a small smile for it anyway. Marlene grabbed Denzel's hand, squeezing it tight. A little unsure, Denzel gave the smallest smile for the picture. "One," Tifa counted, "two…three!" and she clicked the photo. She looked down at the camera to see the picture, smiling at it. "It looks great!" she promised them. "I'll have it developed by the time you get back, Cloud."

Cloud nodded. "I should probably be heading out before the morning traffic hits in the city."

"Be safe," Tifa smiled at him. Denzel and Marlene stepped back from Cloud's bike as the Ex-SOLDIER pulled his goggles down from his forehead to cover his eyes. He turned on the ignition and Fenrir roared to life. His bag slung over his back, Cloud turned to look at the three of them one last time. His eyes went to his ring around Denzel's neck, then up to the boy, then finally to the black mark just visible underneath his bangs covering his forehead. _I'll find a way to stop it. I promise._ And Cloud hit the throttle on Fenrir, the _7th Heaven_ behind him.

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Well, there you have it! Again, sorry it's taken so long to post this! It's been an eventful few weeks and I just had to put this on the backburner for awhile. But don't worry, I won't make a habit of it! Reviews and suggestions 100% welcome!

-Teni


	15. Chapter 15

Hey guys!

So here's the next chapter. It's quite a bit different from the previous ones since the majority of it is focused on Cloud and his travelling outside of Midgar. It's pretty strange not having the setting in 7th Heaven for this one. Hopefully it turned out okay and you guys like it. **Review and suggestions are welcome, especially for this one!** Thanks!

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"Try this one," Tifa pushed a cup filled with a small amount of juice towards Marlene who was seated at one of the bar stools. Denzel was seated next to her, his head resting on his arm as he rolled his model bike back and forth in front of him, looking glum. Marlene grabbed the cup from the counter and tried the juice within. She tested it on her tongue taking in its sweet taste. Tifa was already pouring a different type of juice for Marlene to sample as she came to a verdict.

"I like this one," Marlene declared with a smile.

"On a scale from one to ten?" Tifa questioned.

"Nine!"

Tifa smile at Marlene as she handed her the next cup of juice to try. Tifa sold juices for children that would occasionally wander into the bar, but only the ones Marlene liked as well. "Do you want to try some, Denzel?" Tifa asked the boy.

"No, thank you." Denzel's eyes followed bike replica given to him by Barrett as it he continued to roll it back and forth.

"Something wrong?" Tifa questioned, although she already knew what was bothering Denzel. He had been different since Cloud left the day before. Soon after the Ex-SOLDIER was gone, Denzel was moping and quieter than usual. He continually gave noncommitting answers and didn't seem to care much about anything. Today was turning out no different.

Denzel shrugged at Tifa's question and continued staring at the bike. Tifa looked back at Marlene, who was making a face as she tried the next juice. "I don't like this one."

"Really?" Tifa grabbed the cup and took a drink of it herself. The juice was tangy and had a bite to it. Tifa had to admit, it did not sit well with her taste buds. "Yeah," she agreed with Marlene's assessment. "This one tastes kind of strange doesn't it?" Tifa scratched that flavor of juice off her list. "Cloud should be coming back tomorrow," Tifa reminded the kids as she mixed another juice flavor for Marlene to try.

"Do you know what time he'll be back?" Denzel asked, perking up at the mention of Cloud.

Tifa shrugged. "It's hard to say. Could be early afternoon, might be late tomorrow night. It all depends how long his deliveries took." Tifa watched Denzel sigh at the unknown and go back to his thoughts. She knew exactly how he felt. Without Cloud around, the place felt dull and dreary. Cloud's spirit wasn't vibrant like Marlene's, but it treasured the simple things. Cloud was always so focused on something, no matter what task it was. He could be planning a route for a delivery, or fixing Fenrir, or setting up chairs for the bar, and each task he did with purpose and dedication. Not having him around made the _7th Heaven_ feel bigger. Emptier. Like there was too much space around her that wasn't being occupied. It made her feel like she was at the small center of a vast hollow area.

At night, this hollowness sometimes kept Tifa awake. It reminded her of dark thoughts and haunting memories of the acts she committed all in the name of hate and revenge. She had been a part of AVALANCHE, and although they weren't directly responsible, the group had played a part in the events that ultimately resulted in destruction of Sector Seven…Denzel's home.

Tifa looked at Denzel. Cloud had told her about Denzel's home. He had told her about the boy's parents and how they had perished when the upper plate dropped, killing thousands of people below. The night he told her that, she hadn't been able to sleep. Denzel was an orphan because of them. Because of _her._

"I had just as much part in it as you did," Cloud told her when she was stunned into silence after learning about Denzel's past. She knew why he'd said it, but it didn't take away any of the guilt she felt. This guilt was paired with the dark thoughts and memories that kept her up. Cloud made it bearable though. They never talked about it, but they were both guilty of the same sins. The same wrongs. Just knowing he was willing to keep going- to keep moving- gave Tifa the will to do so as well. Seeing him do it every day gave her strength to do it too. When Cloud was gone, it was harder to find the will, and the strength seamed out of reach. Looking at Marlene and Denzel, Tifa felt that she could hang on one more day, and the next day she would tell herself the same thing. And the next day. And the next day. Yes, even when Cloud wasn't there, she could rely on the kids to lean on, even if they weren't aware of how much she needed them.

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Cloud hit the ignition on Fenrir after replacing his goggles over his eyes. Having made his last delivery in Junon, Cloud's mind was now on the reason for coming out this far in the first place; the things he needed for Denzel. He inputted the coordinates into Fenrir's navigation and saw the blinking dot appear on his map several miles outside Fort Condor. The dot almost completely eclipsed the small town on the map. He had never ventured to this town, but he knew what he needed would be there. Hitting the throttle, Cloud took off towards the town of Featherstone.

Cloud had never heard of Featherstone before reading the name on the cover page of one of the few books Tifa had on the shelves in her room. While she had been out, Cloud had snuck in there to see if she had any medical books that might aid in his new mission: finding a cure for Denzel. There wasn't much to look through in terms of medical books, but in the basic medicinal handbook Tifa did have, Cloud saw that the book had come from a place called _Featherstone Medical Library_. The handbook was old and in poor condition, and Cloud had only found it after his third search of the shelves, finding it shoved behind several other books on the bottom shelf. This shelf seemed to be reserved for books Tifa didn't care much for. While the few books on the other shelves were neatly placed, the books on this shelf were disorderly and ultimately just took up space. He assumed Tifa had been meaning to get rid of the books, maybe throw them out or donate them, but had never gotten around to it.

Cloud determined that, given the shelf it was shoved into and the treatment of the other books around it, Tifa wouldn't be missing the handbook. He brought the small handbook into his room to study, but quickly found that there wasn't much in it that would help him. Cloud hardly knew what he was looking for. A cure to Geostigma? There were hundreds of doctors trying to do the same thing and getting nowhere. How would his search prove to be any different? Cloud grappled with this thought, but finally came to the conclusion that trying to find a cure was better than doing nothing and watching Denzel die.

After the handbook proved to be almost useless, and knowing there were no other medical books in the house, Cloud had stopped by a library on his way home from a short delivery. In the library, he had found a few more medical books, but after spending an hour or two with them, again Cloud determined there wasn't much help from them. He hadn't even bothered to check them out, and instead returned them to their shelves. As he placed one of the books back on the shelf, Cloud was met again with the words "Featherstone Medical Library _"_. Looking down, Cloud realized that most of the books in his arm had come from the _Featherstone Medical Library_ as well.

Cloud had returned to _7th Heaven_ a little later than usual for a simple delivery. Both the kids were already asleep and the bar already closed. It had been a Sunday, so the bar had closed early. When he entered the back door Cloud saw Tifa cleaning off the bar counter one last time, the chairs already up and the lights off except for the one back in the kitchen which gave enough light for Tifa to see the counter, but not too much to shine to the windows to the front of the bar. Neglecting to tell Tifa about his small excursion to the library after his deliveries, Cloud mumbled to Tifa, claiming he was tired, and had gone upstairs into his room to search his maps for anywhere called "Featherstone." Tifa had noticed the light still on in Cloud's room when she came upstairs later. She saw the light coming from under his door and idly wondered why he was still up if he was so tired. Tifa chalked it up to Cloud just working on more deliveries and went to bed.

After hours of searching, Cloud finally found the town of Featherstone several miles outside of Fort Condor. He had reverted to searching through his older maps before he found it. It wasn't on any recent maps. From what he could tell, Featherstone used to be much bigger; probably big enough to be called a city. However, when the mako reactor had been built at Fort Condor, the City of Featherstone had begun to diminish slowly over time. Cloud found that with every map made after the establishment of the mako reactor at Fort Condor, the size of Featherstone had steadily grown smaller on the maps until it was just erased completely from maps ten years ago.

Knowing where Featherstone was, Cloud had started planning a number of deliveries to be made around the area so he would have an excuse to head out that far. He had to get to this medical library. If he could find anything to help him, it would be there.

It was several hours of travelling along a familiar road to Fort Condor before the navigation screen on Fenrir told Cloud to take the next left. Cloud knew the road he was taking wasn't the safest one for common travelers. He kept alert as his eyes darted around, ready for anything. When it was time to turn left off the main road towards Featherstone, Cloud slowed to see turnoff, stopping to take in the scene. The road he needed to go on was nothing more than a dirt road cutting through trees. Looking at his navigation, Cloud was supposed to stay on this road for an hour. Hitting the throttle again, Cloud steered Fenrir onto the road and followed it through the trees.

Cloud wasn't a fan of the road. It was hard to see around the next corner due to the dense forest around him. The road was in disrepair in several sections, but Cloud easily maneuvered around it. He was constantly alert, but there was no cause to be. Cloud continued to follow the road and it led him through the other side of the forest. Shortly after getting clear of the last of the trees Cloud's destination came into view.

There were few tall buildings. Most of them weren't more than two or three stories tall. The town was much smaller than Cloud anticipated. His hopes of finding what he was looking began to diminish. He had imagined a medical library to be a fairly large building, but if it was anything like the buildings coming into view he had come all this way for very little. Cloud passed a sign reading "Featherstone," but it was dull, having been washed out by the sun and yet to be repainted. As he drove closer, Cloud saw an inn and parked Fenrir on the side of it. After removing his goggles, he took one sword from the storage compartment and secured it to his back. As he did, Cloud noticed the people on the streets hurrying indoors, a few of them casting worried glances his way.

Entering the inn, Cloud walked up to the vacant counter and waited for someone to attend to him. He could hear whispers coming from the back room. Getting a little impatient, Cloud rang the bell sitting there. A man's face stuck out from around the corner, another worried look, and the rest of him followed.

"H-how can I help you?" the man asked, a bit of sweat forming on his balding head.

Raising an eyebrow at the obvious discomfort the man was showing, Cloud spoke. "I'm looking for something. I was hoping someone in town could help me find it."

"Uh, hmm. Well…y-you see," the man stammered as he straightened a few papers on the counter. "There's been a bit of a…a mix-up." Cloud's eyebrows furrowed at the innkeeper's awkward response. "You see, someone's already come this week."

Confused, Cloud stared at the stuttering man. "I'm sorry?"

"We paid what we owed," he gave a nervous chuckle. "I'm afraid we have nothing left."

"I don't-"

"But i-if you're looking for an advance towards next week," the innkeeper reached under the counter and pulled out a wooden box. "I do have a few coins!" with shaking hands, the innkeeper opened the box to reveal a few receipts and even fewer coins. "Here," he reached in and gathered up the coins with difficulty. "Take them."

"Hold on," Cloud refused the coins when the sweating innkeeper held them out to him.

"Please. Take them," the innkeeper begged with a smile that didn't match the rest of his frightened state. "Take it!" He shook his hand to emphasize it, the shaky smile on his face turning into a grimace. "Take them!" he shoved the fistful of money into Cloud's face.

"Hey!" Cloud grabbed his wrist and shoved it down onto the counter. The man flinched at the action, looking like he was about to break down and cry. "Listen to me. I don't know what you're _talking_ about. I'm not here to collect your money, I'm here to ask for directions."

Hearing Cloud's words, the innkeeper's eyes darted up to the man with spikey hair. He seemed to relax a bit, so Cloud released his arm. "Forgive me," the innkeeper sighed. "We get so few new faces. I thought you were with them."

"With who?" Cloud questioned.

"Ahh," the innkeeper shook his head as he dropped the coins into his wooden box and replaced it under the counter. "It doesn't matter. My name is Hardy," the innkeeper introducing himself as Hardy nodded in greeting. "How may I help you today?"

Deciding to forget what happened for the innkeeper's sake, Cloud got to the reason he was there. "I'm looking for a place called Featherstone Medical Library. Have you heard of it?"

"Oh, the library? Yes, yes. It's just up the road a few miles." Hardy pointed left towards the rest of town. "It's part of Old Featherstone. It's a little hard to find mixed in with the vacant buildings that used to be the city."

"Is the library still open?" Cloud questioned. "I know when the reactor was built in Fort Condor, Featherstone was hit hard."

"Ah, yes." The innkeeper smiled sadly and looked down. "Featherstone used to be a fairly large area. That is, at least, compared to everything else out here. It's true that there was an exodus of people from the city looking to work at the reactor and for Shinra. Many buildings there have fallen into disrepair, but the library has stayed in fair condition. There's a professor or two who live nearby and maintain it. We occasionally get a medical student going by the place looking into research, though you don't look like a medical student." Hardy took notice of Cloud's large sword on his back.

"I am looking into some research, though." Cloud informed him. "I was hoping to do some searching there and then get a room for the night here."

"Oh, yes! Of course!" Hardy nodded. "My son can show you the way. He usually takes the medical students up there. Just one moment. Teryn!" Hardy called into the back room as he entered it. Cloud waited for Hardy to return, and when he did, the innkeeper had a young man with him. He looked to be not much older than Cloud when he left to pursue his dreams of becoming SOLDIER. No more than eighteen. His brown hair hung in slightly messy waves. It stuck up a bit at the back.

"This is my son, Teryn," Hardy gestured to the young man. "He can show you the way to the library."

Teryn nodded once to Cloud and walked out of the inn, Cloud following.

"Your father seemed pretty upset at an unfamiliar face coming into his inn," Cloud decided to strike up a conversation after they had walked through the rest of the town and were taking a road heading over a variety of steep hills.

"Unfamiliar faces usually mean bad news here." Teryn shrugged as he spoke. "Don't take it personally."

"You guys have a problem here?" Cloud questioned.

"You mean other than the dying city?" Teryn cracked a smile at Cloud.

The Ex-SOLDIER smirked. "I see your point."

"After the city started dying, what was left of the people living in Featherstone built that town you saw down there. It was easier and safer to live down there than in an empty city. A lot of bandits took to squatting in the vacant buildings and robbing anyone who still lived there."

"So you have a bandit problem?"

"No," Teryn shook his head. "No, the bandit's left when there wasn't much left to loot through. Rather than move back into a city in disrepair, we just sort of stayed down there by the forest and river." Teryn huffed as they crested over another hill. "As a result, that became Featherstone and the city became this sort of ruins. Only the library and a few other buildings are still operating there."

"If the bandits are gone, why was your dad trying to give me payment?" Cloud asked easily. The exertion of walking up hills didn't bother him.

"One of the businesses in the city owned the land the new Featherstone is built on. When the business folded, they sold the land to a third party, who let the town stay on the land, but then lost the deed to the land to a group of thugs. I heard he lost it in a card game with them, can you believe that? The man bet an entire town in a card game and lost!"

"So now?" Cloud prompted.

"So now," Teryn continued, "these thugs let us live on their property, but make us pay an ever-increasing fee for it. A different guy comes to the town every week and demands payment. He probably pockets most of it for himself, but if we don't pay, the whole group comes and vandalizes the town or burns down a building."

"So your father thought I was coming to collect payment." Cloud finally understood.

"Someone already came to collect payment earlier in the week, so seeing another person come up made everyone nervous." Teryn shook his head with a sigh. "Featherstone barely survives having to pay them once a week. We couldn't survive having to pay two times a week. The town would be burned down by the end of the month."

"I'm sorry," Cloud told the boy.

Teryn shrugged. "Could always be worse. We're lucky to have survived this long. We'd rather stay here than pack up and leave. Featherstone is home, you know?" Teryn flashed a youthful smile. "The library's just up ahead." Teryn pointed over the next hill, and Cloud followed him there.

When Cloud reached the top of the hill with Teryn, he took in the sight. It was a much small city than Midgar, but still, at least the size of two of Midgar's Sectors. The buildings were tall, and all of them looked ghostly against the setting sun.

Teryn took a step forward and pointed to a building in between two towers. "That's the medical library. Think you can get there from here?"

"Sure," Cloud nodded. Teryn turned around to head back down the hill. "Hey," Cloud turned, reaching into his pocket. He withdrew his hand and placed a few gil in Teryn's hand. "That's for showing me the way." He reached into his pocket again and placed a substantial amount of gil into Teryn's hand again.

"What's this for?" Teryn questioned, not remembering the last time he had this much gil.

"I'm paying you to watch my bike outside the inn. Make sure nothing happens to it. I'll pay you more when I come back if it's in the condition I left it in."

"Thank you." Teryn looked at Cloud.

"Cloud," the Ex-SOLDIER gave him his name.

"Thank you, Cloud." Teryn gave him another smile and ran down the hill. "Don't worry!" He called back. "Your bike's in good hands! There won't be a scratch on it!"

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There you have it! This one was so difficult to write since Cloud is interacting with new people in a new place. Hope you enjoyed it. **Please, please, please review for this one. I was really unsure about how it would turn out.** You guys have been great, so keep it up! Thanks again for reading.

And by the way, for those of you who guessed that the thing Cloud was getting was the medical books for Denzel, you were totally right! Yay! You guys are awesome! Haha.

-Teni


	16. Chapter 16

Hey guys. It's Teni.

Yes, I am still alive. Sorry about that. I know I promised you guys I would keep posting over the summer, but to be honest, things got a little crazy over the summer. There were a few family medical emergencies and I started working and by the time I got back to this story, I was just out of sync with it. You get what I mean? I just couldn't get back to the point I was at before with this story.

I instead started working on some of my own originals and spent some time with those. But now I'm back at school for my last year and I started picking at this story a bit. Now, I had most of this chapter written out for awhile, but it wasn't nearly long enough to feel comfortable posting it for you guys. But now I feel a bit better about it.

So, after a few months hiatus, here's the next chapter (if any of you guys decided to stick around long enough to read it).

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An uneasy feeling came over Cloud as he stood in the shadow of the Featherstone Medical Library. It vaguely reminded him of Shinra Manor back in Nibelheim. As he climbed the stone steps, Cloud idly wondered if he would become obsessed as well. Would he go mad as he looked through research notes just like He did?

Cloud became aware of where his thoughts had drifted and he wrenched them away from that dark place. He didn't want to think about Him. He was dead. Gone. He didn't exist anymore. It was all in the past. So why was he still thinking about it?

Shaking his head, Cloud gripped the brass handle on the door to the library and pulled it open. The door protested to the movement with groans and squeaking hinges. Cloud passed over the threshold and pulled the door closed behind him. The sound echoed through the building bouncing off the walls. Cloud's eyes swept around the large space searching for any movement. The area was dark. Only natural light lit the space from the windows above on the second floor. Moving forward, the floorboards groaned under Cloud's footsteps. There were loose papers littering most of the first floor. Cloud sighed in disappointment as his eyes fell on the rows of empty shelves in front of him. From what he could tell, the entire first floor area was barren and severely depleted of books. Only a few shelves had a book or two scatted on them. Cloud walked up to one of these shelves and flipped through its contents. The books were damaged; defaced, ripped out, suffering from water damage. Cloud didn't understand. Was it a dead end? Hardy had told him medical students still traveled to the library for research. Had he misheard him?

"Can I be of any assistance?" Cloud reached behind to grip the handle of his sword as he turned to face whoever had spoken. Cloud released his sword when he saw a short man standing in front of him. His hair was a platinum color. It was striking against his slightly tan skin. He smiled kindly behind the small glasses perched on the top of his hooked nose.

"I'm…looking for a book." Cloud spoke a little unsure as he looked around at the empty shelves again.

"Ah. Well, you've come to the right place!" The man smiled, his laugh lines becoming more apparent. "What sort of book are you looking for?"

"Medical research," Cloud spoke more confidently. "I was told this was the place to find it."

"Well, this _is_ the medical library. I'm sure we can find what you're looking for," the man chuckled. "If you'll follow me. My name is Simon. I aid in the preservation of this library." The man named Simon watched Cloud's eyes shift to the rows of empty shelves they were passing by. "The first floor is just an illusion," Simon explained to him. "Since the city began to decline, we've always had a problem with bandits and marauders and the like. We keep the first and second floors bare so anyone who wanders in might be disinclined to stay long. The only books we keep in this area are damaged or copies of originals. If someone were to steal them, it wouldn't be much of a loss." Simon began to climb the steps the second floor and Cloud followed him.

"You have people who steal books?"

"Sometimes," Simon admitted. "Knowledge is power. The bandits don't know this, but the men who hire them do. Some of the research we have here is very valuable."

Cloud thought of the book in Tifa's possession. Had it been stolen from here before it went to Tifa? Cloud also thought of the book in the library back in Midgar. "I'm in possession of a book from this library. An old medical handbook," Cloud relayed to Simon as they ascended to the second floor. "If you want it back…"

Simon shook his head. "Most of the books out in the world that came from this library were sold. We've had to sell quite a lot of books to keep this place alive. Most of those books went to other libraries. It's rare for our books to be stolen, but it happens. The book you came across was probably bought." Cloud nodded once as Simon unlocked a padlock on the elevator doors with an older looking key.

"You said you were looking into medical research. Are you a student?" Simon eyed Cloud's buster sword again.

Cloud shook his head. "Just looking for answers, if there are any."

Simon shrugged as they entered the lift. "More often than not, research leads to more questions. Less answers. Is there a certain area of research you are looking into? Perhaps I can be of assistance."

Cloud hesitated to answer as the lift ascended passed several floors. He considered Simon's kind eyes and willingness to help him. "Geostigma," he finally answered.

Simon looked down with a hint of defeat in his eyes. "Yes, there are many doctors and scientists looking for a cure. I started looking, myself, for a while."

Cloud turned to Simon. "What have you discovered?"

Simon sighed. "No more than the doctors with their million dollar labs and equipment. I only have books at my disposal. You are welcome to the research if you're interested!" Simon insisted as the lift started to slow. "There isn't much, but please, help yourself."

Cloud nodded in agreement and the lift shuttered to a halt. Simon opened the doors to the lift to reveal rows upon rows of white shelves filled with books and medical journals. Cloud's lips parted in shock at the sight. There was so much in front of him. He wasn't sure where to even start.

"This floor, and the one above, are where we house most of the research. It was originally a preservation floor, so the room itself has been built to last," Simon explained. The older man looked at Cloud's overwhelmed features and spoke. "Let me show you my study where I keep my research and I'll pull it out for you. It's a place as good as any to start."

Cloud closed his mouth, looked at Simon, and nodded once. He followed the man to a back room with a large desk and several tables. It looked like the office of someone important. There were shelves of books in this room too, along with windows looking out to the ruined city. Simon led him to the large desk and had him wait by it while he disappeared behind one of the book shelves for a moment.

"I must say," Simon spoke from behind the bookshelf as he shuffled things around. "I'm rather surprised you would come to do research yourself. Forgive me, but you don't strike me as someone well versed in the medical field."

"I'm not," Cloud admitted as he noticed a photograph resting on the desk. It was a picture of a woman close to Cloud's age. She was smiling happily at the camera. Cloud saw Simon standing next to her with his arm wrapped around her back in a fatherly way.

"Hmm," Simon chewed on the information as he gathered binders and journals stuffed with papers and notes. "Here we are," he finally emerged from behind the book shelf. Cloud turned to him. "This is all my research pertaining to Geostigma, started almost two years ago." Simon set the heavy research down on one of the study desks in the room. Cloud left the large desk and moved to Simon. He opened one of the journals and starting flipping through the pages.

"Two years?" Cloud questioned as he skimmed the first few pages.

"Yes, well that's when the first few cases of Geostigma emerged. I had a colleague in Midgar at one of the medical facilities who was there when the first few cases were brought in. He came here looking for research of his own."

"I thought Geostigma has only been around for a year."

"Oh, no." Simon shook his head. "Geostigma emerged shortly after the collapse of the Mako reactors in Midgar. The Shinra company? It was just a month or two after that whole fiasco the first Geostigma case was documented. It's all there in the research," Simon wagged a finger at the pile in front of Cloud.

Cloud looked through a few pages of notes, reading them quickly. "Not contagious? Geostigma?"

"Hmm?" Simon looked over Cloud's shoulder to read what he had previously written. "Oh, yes. There are many doctors and scientists who believe the stigma isn't contagious. It cannot be transferred from one person to another. It's something you either have, or you don't."

"I thought the stigma was contagious."

"Oh, no." Simon confirmed. "No, it's something that resides in the blood. Some believe it's a mutation; cancerous in a way. It's something that just happens. You can't take any measures to avoid it. Its pattern is too random to indicated any transferring from one person to another."

"Does that mean anyone can get it?" Cloud questioned.

"Technically, I suppose so. But it usually effects children. There have been a few cases involving men and women between the ages of eighteen and thirty, but no geriatric or infant cases."

So they were all at risk? Marlene and Tifa? Even Cloud, himself. Denzel couldn't give the stigma to them. Cloud was glad that wasn't the case, but non-contagious made him feel uneasy. The stigma was something they could have lurking in their blood already, lying dormant before becoming active and destroying the body from the inside out.

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Cloud spent the next several hours pouring over Simon's research and notes on Geostigma. The material was dense and hard to work through. Cloud had basic knowledge of medicinal cures and anatomy. He learned much through the academy about the human body and medicine. Simon's notes required prior knowledge to understand what was written. Before Cloud knew it, the clock showed it was almost eight o'clock. Feeling slightly guilty for staying here so long, Cloud gathered the research and notes to hand them back to Simon, who was dozing in the chair behind the desk.

Quietly, Cloud set the stack of papers and binders on Simon's desk. The librarian must not have been in a deep sleep because he stirred awake as Cloud set the heavy load down. "Done for the night?" Simon asked as he straightened in his chair.

"Actually, I'm planning on leaving tomorrow morning."

"So soon?" Simon questioned. Cloud nodded. "Then, by all means, take it." Simon pushed the pile of papers back across the desk towards Cloud. "Hopefully it can help you in some way."

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Aren't you still researching?"

Simon shook his head. "The purpose for my research…" Cloud noticed him glance at the photograph on his desk. "Is lost." Simon sighed slightly as he reflected on the picture.

"Your daughter?" Cloud asked as he looked at the picture as well.

Simon nodded. "Calla."

Cloud shifted uncomfortably. "What happened?"

Simon looked as if he was about to answer, but must have decided against it because he stood from his chair and gestured to the research. "Please take it. I pray it will be more help to you than it ever was to me." Cloud looked down at the research, then reluctantly started to gather it up again to take with him.

"I hope you find what you're looking for," Simon moved around the desk to stand at Cloud's side. "Whoever you're doing this for must be someone very important to you."

Cloud looked down, then gave the smallest of nods.

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Well, there you have it. I know it's short, but I'm getting back into it. It's gunna take awhile. Sorry about making you guys wait so long. I don't know when the next chapter will be posted. It'll probably be a few days at least. Let me know what you think.

Take it easy,

-Teni


	17. Chapter 17

Hey there! Teni here. So it's been a few weeks. Thanks so much for reviewing the last chapter! I'm so glad to her from all of you again. I'm sorry I made you guys wait so long for the previous chapter, but I'm glad you guys enjoyed it and were excited for me to keep continuing this story.

So here's the next chapter! Review and tell me what you think!

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Cloud woke the next morning to a distant sound. It was far away, but enough to wake him with his sensitive hearing. Opening his eyes, the Ex-SOLDIER rose quickly to look out the window. Cloud could only see the forest. His room was not high enough to see what lay beyond, but he knew it was the plains. There was a plume of dust steadily rising from the direction he had come into town the day before. In the distance, Cloud could hear motorcycles. Deciding this was a bad sign, Cloud quietly got ready and placed his Buster sword on his back before heading downstairs.

Hardy was in the back room preparing a breakfast. Cloud took a seat in the corner where he could see out the window and waited. It wasn't long before the engines of the bikes could be heard by those with normal hearing. As the roar of the bikes drew closer, Cloud saw Hardy stiffen in the back room, then come darting out to the front.

"It can't be," he said to himself as Cloud watched him rummage for something under the counter. "It's too soon. They shouldn't be here this soon!"

"Who?" Cloud asked from the corner. Hardy looked up at him suddenly, not realizing he was there.

"They…" Hardy swallowed. "You can't be here when they arrive. They don't like outsiders. They'll rob you!"

Cloud raised an eyebrow. He'd like to see them try, whoever "they" were.

"Father!" Teryn called from the back room as the sound of the bikes drew closer. He entered the front and Hardy grabbed his shoulder. Teryn's young eyes fond Cloud in the corner. "You don't want to be here when they come. You still have time to leave."

"I'm fine right here," Cloud answered. It was time he got a look at these thugs these people were so afraid of.

The roar of the bikes was close as Hardy and his son hurried out of the inn to face them. Cloud watched out the window as a group of five men rounded the corner on their bikes and screeched to a halt in the middle of the town. Hardy walked out to them while Teryn stayed near the entrance to the inn. Cloud took a good look at the man who appeared to be the leader of the thugs. He had a bandana tied around his forehead slicking his greasy hair back. He was big due to his muscular form. Bigger than Cloud. He wore a black leather jacket and long black pants with heavy boots. Cloud could see the hilt of a knife peeking out from the boot. The rest of the men all wore similar clothing: black leather, bandanas tied around arms and legs and wrists. Definitely some motorcycle thug gang.

Despite the door to the inn being shut, Cloud's sensitive hearing could pick up every word spoken as Hardy neared the men.

"Oh, Lesten!" Hardy greeted in a shaky voice as he addressed the leader. "We weren't expecting you today."

"Can it, old man!" The man presumed to be Lesten ordered. "Seems you've been holding out on us," he sneered.

"W-what do you mean?" Hardy asked, genuinely confused.

"You know what he's talking about!" one of the group members spoke. This one had a bandana wrapped around his upper arm.

"Seems you were a few gil short this week, Mr. Hardy." Lesten shrugged. "Did you try to cheat one of my boys?"

"Short?" Hardy asked. "N-no, there must be some mistake. I paid one hundred gil earlier this week."

"You calling my boys liars?" Lesten questioned as he leaned into Hardy. "Or maybe you're suggesting that they can't count?"

"N-no, I'm sorry. That's not what I meant." Cloud watched Lesten grab Hardy roughly and pull him close by his collar. Cloud saw Teryn take a step forward to help, but Hardy held a hand out to him. "It's alright, Teryn." He reassured his son.

"You listen to me, Hardy, my man." Lesten smiled as he spoke to Hardy. "My boys say you're a few gil short, and I know in the past you've had a habit of being a few gil sort. This ain't nothing new. So you're going to pay up, one way or another. You got that?"

Cloud had seen enough. Rising from his chair, he moved to the door just as he heard Lesten ask, "Well what do we have here?" Cloud was quiet as he opened the door. He saw Lesten looking at Fenrir parked on the side of the inn. "Where'd you get that shiny new bike, Hardy? You holding out on me again?"

"I-it's not mine," Hardy shook his head.

"Well whose is it?" Lesten asked just as Cloud closed the door to the inn behind him. Lesten looked at Cloud, sizing him up. "Well, you're not a face I've seen before. Who the hell are you, a hired muscle? You hiring muscle now, Hardy?" Lesten shook Hardy by the collar.

"Just passing through," Cloud pulled Lesten's attention from Hardy to him. "Needed a place to spend the night."

"And what's your name, blondie?" Lesten asked, letting go of Hardy and putting his full attention on the stranger before him.

Cloud raised his chin slightly. "Cloud."

" _Cloud?"_ Lesten annunciated the letters as if they tasted bad in his mouth, then laughed a wheezing laugh. "What the hell kind of name is that?" Lesten's group laughed as well. "Well, _Cloud._ That's a pretty big sword you got there," Lesten pointed his chin towards the Buster Sword on Cloud's back. "That thing's bigger than you. You carrying it for a giant that lives 'round here? Probably uses it as a butter knife doesn't he?"

"It's a pretty sharp butter knife," Cloud shrugged unfazed by the insult. Teryn cracked the smallest of smiles, half in amazement that this stranger was standing up to Lesten like this. Cloud saw Lesten's smirk disappear for a moment, then it picked right back up as his eyes went to Fenrir.

"This your bike?" Lesten gestured to the bike. Cloud nodded once, not saying anything. "She's a beauty," Lesten nodded once in agreement with himself. "Much prettier than anything these folks have ever seen, for sure." Cloud's eyes moved once around the townspeople slowly coming out of their homes to see the standoff, then returned to Lesten. For a moment, Cloud expected the man to challenge him for the bike, but Lesten pulled his lips to one side of his face in thought, then looked back at Hardy who had conveniently moved out of reach of him. "So how 'bout it Hardy? You have the money you owe us?"

"Money?" Hardy asked, taken aback that Lesten was addressing him again.

"The _gil?"_ Lesten's tone was cold and hard. He was done with his fun. He wanted Hardy to pay. "Pay the full amount of what you owe us or there'll be…accidents." Lesten's eyes went to Cloud for a moment, then back to the innkeeper.

"But I-I," Cloud could see Lesten's face slowly turning red as Hardy stumbled over his words.

"How much does he owe you?" Cloud interjected.

Lesten slowly looked at Cloud, then pursed his lips in thought. "Thirty-seven gil."

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "That's more than 'a few short.'"

Lesten shrugged. "The price is the price. It was going to be seven gil, but the cost of rent just went up by thirty gil. These lovely people now have you to thank for that, blondie." Lesten gestured to all the people gathered around. Cloud noticed the townspeople's faces blanch at the new cost of rent. Even Teryn's shoulders fell slightly at the new figure. Cloud knew it was more than any of them could afford.

Cloud reached into his back pocket and pulled out a stack of gil. He counted it quickly and made his way down the steps of the inn to Lesten. "There's two thousand gil for you to clear out of this town and find somewhere else to enforce your rent fees." Cloud held the money out to the thug and heard audible gasps of shock from the others around. Even the rest of the men on bikes shifted uncomfortably, waiting to see what their leader would do. Lesten looked at the money in Cloud's hand. Considering. "It's more than you make in a month off collecting your _rent_ from here," Cloud pointed out.

A dangerous smile broke over Lesten's face, and he took the money from Cloud's hand. He pocketed it and readied to hit the ignition on his bike. "I'll think about it," he smiled. "You better be long gone by the time I come back."

"I wouldn't come back if I were you," Cloud suggested. Lesten's smile on his face was still constant, but his eyes burned with a danger Cloud recognized. In reaction, Cloud slowly moved his hand around his back to grip the hilt of his Buster sword. Lesten saw the movement, and the look in his eye was gone in an instant.

"We'll see," was all Lesten said, and he started up the bike. Cloud took a pace back to give him room and with a burst of dust the group rounded off back to the trail heading out of Featherstone. Cloud sighed as he released his grip on his sword.

The other townspeople seemed to relax and release a collective sigh of relief. Hardy moved to Cloud's side. "I…thank you. We're in your debt."

Cloud looked at him for a moment, then moved to go back to the inn. Teryn jogged to his side and followed him. "That was amazing! No one's ever stood up to Lesten like that and come away completely unscathed."

"Wasn't anything special," Cloud told the youth as he entered the inn again.

"Sure it was. You freed us from Lesten and his gang." Teryn followed as Cloud took a seat at one of the tables in the inn's dining area and Teryn took the seat across from him. "Lesten's never had a reason to leave."

"I don't suppose you and the other townspeople ever gave him one." Cloud's statement came out colder than even he expected. He saw Teryn flinch and look down in shame, and Cloud immediately regretted the statement.

"What can _we_ do?" Teryn questioned as he kept his eyes down.

"You can fight," Cloud told the young man.

Teryn scoffed and looked back up at Cloud. "Us? We're a bunch of merchants and shop owners. Lesten's group is a ragtag team of hired muscle, military deserters, and trained fighters. Most of the people in Featherstone don't even own a weapon."

"It doesn't take weapons to stand up to someone," Cloud counseled the innkeeper's son. "Did you see me draw mine?"

"Well, no…but-"

"If you all just sit here and let a man like Lesten walk all over you, he's _going_ to walk all over you." Teryn lowered his head slightly. "You need to start standing up for yourselves. This is your town, no matter what some piece of paper says."

Teryn slowly nodded, believing Cloud's words. "So are you leaving today?" Teryn changed the subject, trying to sound cheerier. "Had enough of this old rundown town?"

Cloud considered for a moment. He hadn't gotten through as much of Simon's research as he wanted to, and after arriving back at the inn the night before Cloud had read through the notes Simon had given him and realized some of them needed interpreting. "I might head over to the library one last time before I leave this afternoon." The deliveries he had made on his way to Featherstone had taken a day and a half, but Cloud figured that a straight shot from Featherstone to Midgar with no stops wouldn't take more than a half a day. Originally he had been planning on leaving in the morning and being back in Midgar by the afternoon. However, after the recent events, Cloud wanted to stay in the town a little bit longer. Something made him feel uneasy about leaving. What had happened this morning wasn't over. He could feel it.

But, Cloud had to get back to Tifa and the children. He had told Tifa his deliveries would take three days. If he took any longer than that she would get worried. The latest he could leave was by the afternoon, then arrive back in Midgar later in the evening, probably after the children were asleep. Tifa would wait up for him. That was her usual habit when he was out on longer deliveries.

"Here," Cloud reached into his back pocket and pulled out the stack of gil again. He counted it again and handed a small stack to Teryn. "Watch my bike while I go up to the library again."

At first, Teryn didn't take the gil. "Why do you keep doing this? Why are you helping us? Why throw away all this money?"

"I'm not," Cloud told him. "My bike's very important to me, so I'm paying you more gil to look after it."

Teryn raised an eyebrow, not believing that was the whole reason, but took the gil anyway. "Where'd you get that kind of money anyway?"

"I own a delivery service."

"And your delivery service is so successful that you can carry around two-thousand gil to give to strangers?"

Cloud rose from the table and shrugged. "I make a lot of deliveries."

Teryn scoffed as he shook his head. "Yeah, sure."

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Cloud spent half the day with Simon at the medical library. Simon was surprised to see him since Cloud had told him he would be leaving early the next morning, but the librarian was happy to assist him in decrypting his notes.

"You'll have to pardon me," Simon smiled bashfully. "Often when I'm researching, my notes take form in such a way that only makes sense in my frazzled mind at the time." Simon aided Cloud with the notes and directed him to books and texts where he had gotten his research from. Simon encouraged Cloud to take the books with him as well.

"Are you sure?" Cloud questioned when Simon offered him several books to take. "I don't know when I'd be able to bring them back to you."

Simon shrugged. "I'm the only one who's used them in the last few years. My notes are based off those books, so their important to understanding what I've written."

After Simon insisting a few more times, Cloud finally agreed to take the books with him. He promised he would send them back when he was done with them, but Simon shrugged and informed him to take all the time he needed with the books. It was midafternoon when Cloud determined he could no longer stay. He had to return to Midgar. So, Cloud said his goodbyes to Simon again and began to make his way back to the town with the research notes and books in his bag.

As he walked, Cloud found himself thinking about Tifa and Denzel and Marlene and knew he was looking forward to being back there again. He was looking forward to seeing their smiling faces and all the questions he knew Denzel and Marlene would bombard him with. He was glad to be going home.

A sound pulled Cloud from his thoughts of _7th Heaven_ and his family. It was far off, but clear. It was the dull roar of motorcycle engines. Cloud looked up to see a plume of dust similar to the one that had preceded Lesten and his gang this morning. It was close to the town.

Hurrying his pace, Cloud jogged down the hillside using the path Teryn had shown him his first day at Featherstone. Still halfway down the trail, the town came into view at a clearing and Cloud saw Lesten and his group there in front of the inn again. Lesten was standing over someone who was on the ground. It was Teryn. The youth was holding his jaw as if he had just been punched and Hardy knelt beside him, begging with Lesten. The man sneered as he towered over the father and son,

Cloud started descending the rest of the hill, watching Lesten as he started to move to the side of the inn where Fenrir was parked. Before Cloud to even think about getting angry because someone was about to mess with his bike, he heard Teryn yell as he scrambled to his feet. Hardy called to his son, but Teryn grabbed Lesten by his right arm and yanked him back to face him.

A shot rang out suddenly, causing Cloud to freeze where he stood. Everyone was still for a moment. No one moved. Lesten was still, his gang was still, even the townspeople were still. And then Teryn collapsed back, hitting the earth as his father cried out in horror at the dark red stain that was forming over his son's stomach.

* * *

Oh, I'm bad. Haha.

Talk about cliffhanger. Poor Teryn! So, I wanna know what you guys think: Is Teryn dead? Is he still alive somehow? Which way do you think I'm going to swing?

Not gunna lie, I thought about it both ways. Keep in mind, I watched the Season 7 premier of Walking Dead last night, so I'm already in a bad mood about that. Literally cried at the deaths that happened. Let me tell you, the directors really nailed that "helplessness" feeling for the audience. I felt like absolute crap afterwards and had no motivation to do any homework or reading or anything else besides writing after that. I'm still recovering!

Let me know what you guys think about this one, and let me know what you want to happen with Teryn. I still haven't decided, so I'm taking suggestions into account.

Take it easy.

-Teni


	18. Chapter 18

Hey guys!

I know last chapter was left on a complete cliffhanger, so sorry about that. But what's writing without knowing you drove your readers a bit nuts? Haha. Anyway, thanks for hanging in there. You guys are awesome.

So I have this chapter, and I also have the next few outlined with what Cloud's going to do about Lesten and his gang. But, after that, I really haven't had a lot of inspiration for future chapters, **so if you guys want to help and give suggestions or ideas about interaction between Cloud and the family to get those creative juices flowing I would really appreciate that!**

Thanks again, and here's the fate of Teryn! Enjoy!

* * *

Drawing his sword from his back, Cloud sprinted down the rest of hillside towards the town where Teryn was lying on the ground and Lesten standing above him. Holstering the blast gun, Lesten saw the blonde swordsman heading for him, so he and the rest of his gang hurried to their bikes and took off down the path leaving Hardy and the other townspeople in their dust before Cloud could reach them.

"Teryn!" Hardy yelled at his boy as he pulled his upper body into his lap. Cloud paused for an instant to decide which was more important: Catching Lesten and his gang, or helping Teryn. After a split second of thought Cloud sheathed his Buster sword and knelt down beside Hardy and Teryn. The red stain forming on Teryn's stomach was steadily spreading. Teryn's eyes were open and he blinked once as he tried to catch his breath. His face was growing paler by the second and a thin sheen of sweat covered his skin. He was conscious, but Cloud knew he wouldn't be for long. The boy was going into shock. Cloud could see the way his eyes slowly blinked and his unresponsiveness to his father's cries. There wasn't much time. Cloud rose suddenly and ran to his room in the inn. With a four-digit code, he opened the lock box he had stored under the bed his first day there. The several Materia orbs he had stored inside were for any emergencies he might encounter on his deliveries. This was one of them.

Cloud withdrew a low-level healing Materia from the box and hurried back down the stairs. Teryn's untrained body wouldn't be able to handle anything stronger than that. Too much could induce Mako poisoning. Running back outside with the glowing orb, Cloud knelt beside Teryn, who was now unconscious, and lifted his shirt to reveal the open wound center mass on his stomach. It was bleeding profusely.

"What is that?" Hardy asked as Cloud held the orb over Teryn's wound. Without saying anything, Cloud pressed the orb to the open wound and Teryn gasped in pain as his whole body seized up, then slowly began to relax as it absorbed the substance. Teryn's breathing became easier as the orb glowed brighter and the wound began to heal before Hardy's eyes.

"It's a miracle," Hardy whispered as he stared at the wound, which was still there, but the severity was greatly reduced. The wound had gone through Teryn, but now, it was only a few inches deep. It was still serious enough to require medical attention.

"It's Materia," Teryn spoke in a weak voice. His eyes were open slightly as he looked, pale-faced and sweaty, up at the two of them. "I read about it in one of Simon's medical books." Teryn winced at the pain that was still there.

Cloud grabbed Teryn's arm tightly. "Why did you do that?" his voice was stern.

Teryn gave a weak smile. "It was a good read."

"No," Cloud shook his head. "Why did you go after him?"

Teryn shrugged the best he could from his position, wincing as he did. "You told me we had to start standing up for ourselves." The depth of guilt that washed over Cloud was instantaneous. He had just told him that a few hours ago. "Besides, you paid me to look after your bike. They were going to steal it."

"I don't care about the bike. It's not worth your life, or anyone else's."

Teryn gave his version of a shrug again. "It seemed like a good idea at the time." Cloud watched as Teryn's eyes closed as he drifted back into unconsciousness.

"Teryn!" Hardy tried to shake him awake, but the boy was out.

"The Materia helped, but it didn't heal the wound completely. He's still losing blood." Cloud shifted Teryn into his own arms and lifted him up. "We need to move him." Hardy nodded as he rose to his feet to follow Cloud. Hardy directed Cloud to Teryn's room once they had entered the inn.

"Through here," Hardy pointed to a door leading off of the back room.

Cloud lowered Teryn onto the bed. Grabbing a towel hanging at the end of the bed, he pressed it onto the wound, which was significantly smaller, but still serious enough where blood flowed steadily from it.

"Keep pressure here," Cloud ordered Hardy as he pulled the father's hands and pressed them onto the towel. Hardy nodded and Cloud left to gathered what medical supplies he had from his pack upstairs.

Within a few minutes after Cloud's return, Cloud had Teryn's wound cleaned, disinfected, and was setting up to sew it shut.

"You need to go to Simon," Cloud instructed Hardy. "Tell him what's happened. Ask him if he has any IV fluids or blood packs. Tell him to bring them right away." Hardy nodded, but hesitated as he looked back to his son. "He'll be fine," Cloud promised. "But we need those supplies." Hardy nodded again and left.

Cloud got to work on Teryn's wound. He made sure there was no more organ damage before sewing up the wound. The Materia had done its job. It had, undoubtedly, saved Teryn's life. The youth remained unconscious through the whole procedure. His breathing was still labored, and he looked sickly pale, but his pulse was strong.

Cloud was just wrapping a bandage around Teryn's torso when Hardy returned accompanied by Simon and several supplies.

"How is he?" Simon asked as he opened his medical kit to pull out a bag of blood.

"He's stable for now, but he needs a transfusion."

Hardy occupied the chair Cloud had been sitting in while the two set up the drip and IV's. After that was done, Cloud exited the room to head outside after Simon reassured him that he would watch over Teryn. As he stood outside the inn, Cloud could see the red stain in the dirt where Teryn had collapsed. Walking over to it, Cloud brushed the dirt over it with his foot to cover it up. He stared at the dirt.

He doubted Lesten would return before Cloud was gone from Featherstone. They knew he was just passing through. He was supposed to have left that morning, but now the sun was already starting to set. He couldn't leave now. He was the reason Teryn almost lost his life. He had scolded Teryn and the other townspeople for the way they let Lesten treat them. He had put the idea into Teryn's head to fight back. He had paid Teryn to protect his bike, which had gotten him shot. Cloud had agitated Lesten and his thugs, making things worse for the town. He couldn't leave them to the wrath of Lesten and his gang. But where were they? No one seemed to know where to find Lesten's hideout.

Looking at the dust still rising from where Cloud had kicked at it, the Ex-SOLDIER thought.

The dust…

Cloud looked up at the inn. The roof wouldn't be high enough to see passed the tree line. Cloud looked at the other buildings nearby, but none of them were tall enough either. The only place that would have a good vantage point was up the hills towards the medical library and the ruined city.

Cloud moved to Fenrir and powered on his bike. Fenrir roared to life and Cloud hit the throttle to start up the path towards the medical library. When he was halfway to the top, Cloud pulled off the path towards the clearing that overlooked the town, the one he had seen Teryn and Lesten's altercation from.

Opening up one of Fenrir's smaller compartments, Cloud retrieved the par of charting lenses he always kept there. Holding them up to his eyes, Cloud looked through them and put them into focus. He was the forest and the plains beyond. With the pairing of the magnifying lenses and his mako-enhanced vision, Cloud was barely able to see the dust still floating in the air from Lesten and his group's hasty retreat. Clicking a side button on the lenses, Cloud charted a direct line of trajectory based of the direction the dust was rising from. Cloud lowered the lenses and pulled out the memory chip from them and inserted the small chip into Fenrir's mapping database.

As the navigation screen gave Cloud a topographical view of the area surrounding him, Cloud scrolled to the newest set of coordinates saved on the memory chip and applied them to the system. The screen zoomed out sowing a single straight line cutting across the territory. Starting from Featherstone, Cloud followed the line to see if it intersected with anything of note: a structure, a town, some sort of potential hideout. After sitting there for a few minutes searching on the map, Cloud was beginning to give up hope that he would find what he was looking for. After all, he only had a trajectory. Who's to say the group didn't change course at some point along the path?

However, after another few minutes of searching, Cloud saw it. Several miles out, perhaps an hour or so of driving, Cloud saw what remained of an abandoned settlement. Cloud recognized the area surrounding it. It was a place he tended to avoid on his deliveries. Going through the area was quicker by driving standards, but the area itself was dangerous. Bandits and robbers resided in the abandoned settlements and small towns. It was nothing Cloud couldn't handle, but certainly something that would slow him down, so he tended to avoid the region to make his best delivery time.

Cloud wasn't surprised this was where Lesten's group most likely came from. It was a pretty common area for people like him. Now knowing where the group had come from, Cloud saved the coordinates to Fenrir's database and pulled out the memory chip to replace it in his charting lenses.

"Everyone thought you had left," someone spoke. Cloud was startled, but recognized the voice. It was unlike him to let himself be snuck up on like that, but he had been so focused, Cloud hadn't notice Simon approaching. "They heard the bike and assumed you wanted to be rid of us."

"But you didn't think so?" Cloud asked as he exited out of Fenrir's topographical map and went back to the main screen.

"After all you did for Teryn, I didn't expect you'd just take off like that."

"After all I did _to_ him, you mean."

Simon shook his head and stood at Cloud's side. "That boy is alive because of you."

"He almost died because of me," Cloud was surprised to hear the anger in his own voice. Trying to think nothing of it, Cloud replaced the charting lenses in their compartment. "How is he?" he asked before Simon could say anything else to try and make him feel better.

"He's stable," Simon nodded. "I don't expect he'll wake for at least a few hours, maybe not until tomorrow. Hardy's with him now. I was going back to the library to get some more supplies just in case we should need anything." Cloud nodded once, but didn't say anything. "What are you going to do now?" Simon questioned. "You were planning on leaving today, weren't you?"

Tifa instantly came to mind, then Denzel and Marlene. What was he going to do? All of this was his fault. He couldn't just leave these people like this. Cloud didn't say anything, but he knew he had to go to this abandoned settlement. Lesten couldn't get away with this. He had tried to bribe the man, but that obviously didn't work. He would have to do something else. Something much more dangerous.

Cloud rolled Fenrir back from the ledge and turned towards the path back down the hillside towards the town. He hit the ignition and Simon stepped a few paces back to stand clear. "Don't do anything rash, young man!" Simon warned him over the roar of the engine. Cloud looked at him one, then took off back to the town.

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The sun had set hours before when Cloud told Hardy he would stay up and watch Teryn. Hardy protested, but Cloud insisted the innkeeper get some rest. Hardy reluctantly agreed and left the room, leaving Cloud with the youth.

The Ex-SOLDIER sat in the chair and took the time to examine Teryn's room. The décor in the room reminded Cloud of his own bedroom back in Nibelheim when he was a youth. There were a few posters hanging on the walls of bands and military promotions. There were maps of the old city of Featherstone, the world, and even one of Midgar. On top of the dresser there were statues and items Cloud recognized that did not hail from the Junon area; Cheap souvenirs, figurines, and other bobbles.

The desk in the corner had several books laying on it. Some were opened, others were riddled with tabs for pages Teryn had wanted to remember. Cloud rose from his seat at Teryn's bedside and moved to the stack of books on the youth's desk. He picked up one of the open ones and flipped through the pages. It was one of the books from the medical library. There were several tabs in the pages, most of them pointing towards paragraphs dealing with Materia. So that was how Teryn had recognized the Materia Cloud had used to heal him. Teryn clearly had a mind for knowledge; a thirst for it.

Cloud looked around the room at the maps and books and artifacts from different places. Overall, it was the bedroom of a boy who had ambitions that stretched farther than the borders of his little hometown. Not at all different from Cloud at his age.

Cloud looked at Teryn, who was resting, and then quietly replaced the book to its spot on the desk and left the room. Cloud entered the front area of the inn, still having a visual on Teryn, and pulled out his phone from his pocket. He flipped it open and hit send immediately. He only ever dialed one number.

The phone on the other end rang several times, and Cloud almost hoped Tifa wouldn't pick up. He looked up at the clock on the wall and knew the bar was open and at the height of the night by then. Since Tifa was by herself tonight it was likely she would be too busy with customers to answer.

"Cloud?" he heard Tifa's voice. Startled that she had answered with his name, and not the usual rehearsed greeting they gave over the phone during the open hours of _7th Heaven_ , Cloud was staggered for a moment. "Cloud is that you?" she asked over the phone.

"Tifa," Cloud didn't know how to say what he was about to say. How would she react? He told her that making the deliveries wasn't about running from Denzel and his condition, but what he was about to say wouldn't prove it at all.

"Cloud, where are you? I thought you said you would be back today?"

Cloud could hear the sound of the busy bar in the background. "Something's come up," he confessed quietly.

"What?" Tifa asked loudly. She was having trouble hearing him over the boisterous laughter of the bar. "Hold on." The sound of the bar was further away within seconds. "Okay Cloud, what's going on?" Tifa sounded tired.

"Something's come up," Cloud repeated. "I can't make it back tonight." Cloud waited for her response, but there was silence on her end. "I'm sorry," he added.

After another moment, he heard Tifa sigh at his apology. "It's…it's okay, Cloud." That was not the response he had been expecting. Cloud had expected Tifa to start yelling at him, accusing him, doing _something_ other than just accepting what he had to say. Cloud wished she would yell at him. "I just have to figure out how to tell Denzel and Marlene."

"Don't tell them," Cloud blurted instantly. It was close to panic. He knew he had promised Denzel.

"They're waiting up for you," Tifa warned. "I have to tell them _something_."

"Tell them my bike broke down." He knew that wouldn't fly with Denzel. The boy knew how attentive he was with Fenrir. There was no way Cloud would ever let Fenrir fall into disrepair like that.

Tifa sighed again. "Okay, but that's not the real reason, is it?"

Cloud hesitated. He couldn't tell Tifa where he was. He didn't want her to know. He didn't tell her where he was going and what he was doing in the first place because he didn't want to give her false hope. He didn't want to have her thinking there was actually a cure for Denzel. Cloud hoped, and he knew that if he was wrong the devastation would be unthinkable. But it would only be him. Tifa wouldn't have to have her false hopes crushed like his would be if he failed.

"Cloud?" Tifa asked over the line again, pulling Cloud from his thoughts.

"I just…" Cloud glanced at Teryn, who was still lying in the bed asleep, his breathing labored, but steady. "There's something I have to take care of before I head back."

"Where _are_ you, Cloud?" Tifa asked.

Cloud was silent for a moment. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Tell Denzel I'm still keeping my promise, and that I'm sorry." Cloud pulled the phone from his ear before he could hear Tifa's response and slowly folded the phone shut.

* * *

Oh boy, Cloud. Don't screw things up!

So what did you guys think of it, especially when Cloud has to tell Tifa that he has to extend his trip?

Another question, **would you guys rather have the next chapter continue with Cloud's story in Featherstone, or have it switch over to Tifa telling Denzel and Marlene that Cloud won't be coming home tonight?** Let me know!

I hope you guys are enjoying where this is going. Thank you so much for reading!

-Teni


	19. Chapter 19

Hey there! Sooooo...school has definitely been picking up, and I had to take a break from posting for a few weeks so I could focus on that. But don't worry! I didn't forget.

So, I asked you guys last time if this chapter should be from Cloud's perspective or from the people at 7th Heaven. Some of you wanted me to continue on with Cloud. BUT, most of you did want a chapter from Tifa's perspective or at least the reaction of the kids when Tifa broke it to them that Cloud wasn't coming home (Cloud, you idiot). So, I did something a little different. I did a chapter mostly from Tifa's perspective, but it's got a bit of Marlene and Denzel in there. Also, I flipped back to Cloud at the end so you could get a hint of what he's planning to do in the next chapter.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this chapter. It was a little different from how I usually write. It's pretty internal. Overall, I'm really satisfied with how it turned out.

Let me know what you guys think of it! And GIVE ME IDEAS! Seriously, I always love them so much! Thanks for sticking with me this far!

* * *

Tifa sighed as she continued to scrub at the char on the grill. The darn stuff never came off with a regular cleaning, and sometimes she had to spend a good half an hour scrubbing before she saw improvement. As she had entered the bar that morning, Tifa had noticed how dirty the place had become in the last few weeks. Everything seemed to have a layer of grime on it; the tables, the countertops, the floors, even the windows had a coating of dust on them. So, that morning, Tifa had decided she was going to do a thorough cleaning of the bar, top to bottom.

She had started with the ceiling fans, cleaning each blade as she stood on a chair. The dust she didn't catch with her damp cloth fell to the floor in small clusters. She couldn't remember the last time she had cleaned the fans. She usually let them run day and night in the summers. It was always warm in the bar with the warm bodies clustered together and the hot grills going during the hours they were open. The bar didn't have air conditioning due to it being expensive, but the fans were big and they circulated the air well.

After the fans, Tifa had moved to dust off the tops of cabinets and shelves. She cleaned the overhead rack that the pots and pans hung from in the kitchen, she wiped down the knobs and handles of the cabinets and drawers, she even wiped the backsplash that was caked with grease and oil from the grill. All the cooking on the grill certainly made a mess. Cloud was never as careful as her to not make a mess in the kitchen, always splattering things.

Tifa sighed in frustration as she scrubbed at the grating. Cloud had called the night before during the bar's open hours to tell her he wasn't coming home just yet. Tifa had been disappointed, though she tried not to sound like it on the phone. Denzel and Marlene had waited up eagerly for his return. Even Tifa had let herself become excited that he was coming home. But him telling her he wasn't coming home wasn't as nearly as depressing as the children's faces when Tifa told them Cloud wasn't coming back yet.

Denzel's face had frozen for a moment before he rolled over in the bed, his back to Tifa, and wordlessly pulled the covers up over himself. Marlene had looked down at the ground, trying not to cry.

"I'm so sorry, you guys. Cloud just got held up." Tifa had tried to make it sound like it wasn't a big deal, like it was less of a problem than it really was. "He's trying to get back as soon as he can, but he just ran into a bit of bike trouble."

"Is he okay?" Marlene asked, concerned.

"He sounded fine on the phone earlier," Tifa shrugged. "I'm sure he's fine."

"Why didn't he talk to _us?_ " Marlene asked.

Tifa didn't know what to say at first. "He was…busy. He couldn't talk for more than a few seconds."

"Did he say when he would be back?" Marlene quizzed.

Tifa shook her head. "He'll be back as soon as he can. Alright?" Marlene nodded, but it was a solemn nod. "Alright, Denzel?" Tifa asked the boy, who had been silent. He didn't say anything. "Cloud made you a promise, remember? He'll be back. He promised. You believe him, don't you Denzel?"

Denzel shrugged from under the covers. "Sure."

That had broken Tifa's heart. Denzel was a sensitive boy. He took words to heart. Cloud had promised, and Tifa knew that Denzel felt like Cloud was going back on his word. She didn't want Denzel to despair or lose faith in Cloud, but after Tifa had wished the children goodnight and had gone into her own room, she couldn't help but feel that Cloud was letting them all down. She had gone to bed with this idea in her head, and had woken up feeling horrible about thinking that. No, Cloud always took his promises seriously. Cloud was a man of few words, so those he did say held more weight to them. If he had to break his promise, there must have been a good reason.

 _But he's not breaking his promise,_ Tifa reminded herself. Cloud had said on the phone the night before that he was still keeping his promise to Denzel. He was coming back. Tifa was confident in this statement for a moment before her fears and doubts started creeping back in. But what if he wasn't? What if she had read it all wrong? What if he really was running?

Tifa shook her head and continued her scrubbing of the grill with a renewed vigor. She had to stop thinking about it. Either Cloud was coming home or he wasn't. Who knows? He could be on his way right now. Or, he could be in the middle of running right now...

"Tifa?" she heard a young voice ask hesitantly. Tifa straightened from her scrubbing and looked to see Marlene standing next to her.

"What is it, Marlene?" Tifa questioned, trying to make her voice light and carefree.

Marlene looked from the grill to Tifa again. "Can I help you clean?" Marlene watched Tifa's rigid frame soften and relax, as if her caretaker had been holding in a breath.

"I'd really like that. Thank you, Marlene." Tifa smiled. Marlene smiled back and went to grab a pair of rubbed gloved from under the sink. Marlene knew Tifa only cleaned like this when she was troubled about something. She had done so much cleaning when Cloud had come back from a delivery with broken ribs and some serious bruises. She had also cleaned the time Cloud and her had gotten into an argument about something Marlene hadn't understood. Cloud had stormed out to make a delivery and Tifa had gone straight to reorganizing the ingredients for mixed drinks. Marlene always wanted to help Tifa when she was in trouble. This was the only way she knew how. Even so, Tifa was grateful for the help.

"What should I do?" Marlene questioned when she had pulled on the rubber gloves.

"Well," Tifa paused as she thought of something for Marlene to do. "Would you mind washing the windows with a damp cloth and some window cleaner?"

"Inside and outside?" Tifa thought about it for a moment.

"Just do the inside for now."

Marlene nodded and got straight to work gathering the supplies she needed to clean the windows. Tifa went back to cleaning the grill, this time with less aggression. She didn't know what she would do without Marlene.

"Where's Denzel?" Tifa asked Marlene as the young girl stood on a chair to reach the window over the sink.

"He's laying down upstairs."

"Is he still asleep?" Tifa asked. It was almost lunchtime, she realized.

"No, he's just looking at something Cloud gave him."

Tifa nodded silently and went back to her work. She wondered if Denzel would come down for lunch, or if he would stay in his room all day. Tifa finished up cleaning the grill. It looked much better. The steel wasn't shining brightly, but you could see the metal now instead of the burnt char. Tifa washed her hands in the laundry room sink before opening the fridge to get lunch ready for the children.

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Denzel sighed as he slowly turned Cloud's ring over and over in his fingers, examining the detail in the wolf head there. The ring was much too big for his fingers, which was why Tifa had tied it to a cord so he could wear it around his neck. Denzel had word the ring like a pendent for the entire time Cloud had been away up until last night. He had taken it off that night, waiting for Cloud to arrive so he could give it back to him. But when Tifa had come up the stairs instead of Cloud at the end of the night, Denzel knew Cloud wasn't coming back even before Tifa had told him.

"He promised," Denzel whispered to the wolf head carved into the ring. "He promised." Denzel tried not be angry at Cloud. It wasn't Cloud's fault he had run into bike trouble. But that was what troubled Denzel. Cloud was very meticulous when it came to Fenrir. He and Cloud were in the garage most nights working on the bike. Could it really have broken down despite Cloud's careful tending to it? Denzel wasn't sure. But why would Cloud lie? Maybe he had no intention of coming back. "He promised," Denzel tried to say it with more confidence, but the strength he was searching for in his voice was shaky. He sounded more scared than confident. Denzel closed his eyes. What was he going to do?

A knock at his door alerted Denzel, and he looked to see Tifa open it with a sandwich on a plate and a glass of juice in her hands. "Hey there!" She sounded cheery. "You've been in here all day, lazy bones! Are you hungry?" Tifa set the plate and glass down on his nightstand.

"Not really," Denzel replied as he continued to turn the ring over in his fingers.

"Are you not feeling well?" Tifa asked with concern. She hoped he wasn't going to have another episode. It had been almost a week since his last episode from before Cloud left.

"I'm fine." Denzel's voice was glum.

"Well," Tifa lifted the plate and held it out to Denzel. "Eat up! You're a growing boy, you need food."

"It doesn't matter, though, does it?" Denzel shrugged.

Tifa was brought up short. He had done it again, taken his terminal condition and thrown it in her face. Denzel was a sweet boy, but he had a habit of doing that. He had done it to Cloud on several occasions, he had told her once after the children had gone to bed. Now, Tifa was slammed with the despair that, yes, Denzel was still dying. "Please don't do that," she pleaded with the boy. "I hate it when you do that."

"Do what?" Denzel was alert now as he looked at Tifa. He hadn't meant to make her upset.

"Say things like that. It's terrible." Denzel saw the tears welling up in Tifa's eyes, and he sat up quickly.

"I'm sorry!" He said instantly, and he took the plate from her hand and placed it on his lap. "Thank you, Tifa. It looks really good." Although he wasn't hungry, Denzel forced himself to take a bite of the sandwich. He knew he would have enjoyed it if he were hungry, but right now it wasn't tasting as good as it usually did. He looked at Tifa and tried to smile with the food in his mouth, but Tifa wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were still downcast. "Tifa?" Denzel tried to get her attention after he swallowed his bite of the sandwich. "I'm really sorry. I won't say things like that anymore."

"I don't care if you say things like that or not! But if you've already given up either way then there's no point!" Tifa said angrily. Denzel was shocked. Tifa had never yelled at him before. "And I know you only said it because you're upset, but he's coming back! So you can't give up!" Tifa stood there in her anger, then released it with a sigh. "You can't just give up like that. It only hurts the people around you." She looked at Denzel, who was still shocked, and knelt down next to him, placing her hand on his head. "Promise me, Denzel. Promise me you won't give up, no matter what happens. Promise me you'll fight until the very end, whenever that may be."

Denzel blinked. "I promise." Denzel saw something change in Tifa, like a load had lifted off her shoulders. She looked…lighter. "I'm sorry, Tifa. I won't give up."

Tifa smiled. "Good. Now," Tifa rose from her kneeling position. "Eat your lunch, then come downstairs. Marlene and I are cleaning the bar and we could use an extra set of hands. We want it looking spotless for Cloud when he comes back, right? Whenever that may be." Tifa rolled her eyes, but smiled.

A small smile crept onto Denzel's face, and he nodded. "Yeah." Then, suddenly realizing how hungry he was, Denzel took another bite of the sandwich. It tasted amazing.

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Cloud loaded his bag into Fenrir's back compartment. "Make sure to keep his bandages clean," He told Hardy. "I'll be back to check on him one last time before I leave. Keep him in bed until then."

"What are you going to do?" Hardy followed Cloud as he moved back and forth from the inn to Fenrir, collecting his things.

Cloud looked up at Teryn's father. "I'm going to put a stop to this."

"But how? You're just one man! Lesten and his gang-" Hardy protested, but Cloud interrupted.

"Lesten and his gang are a bunch of thugs who prey on the weak and innocent. They won't be that hard to take care of."

"What do you mean by 'take care of'?" Simon questioned.

Cloud shrugged before getting on Fenrir. "That's up to them."

Simon didn't say anything in reply, but Cloud knew by the look on his face that he didn't like that statement. The townspeople knew Cloud was more than a delivery boy. They knew it the first time they laid eyes on him, his sword, and his bike. They knew he was capable of so much, but he restrained himself. But still, the idea of violence in his near future, whether he brought it or not, was unsettling for Simon.

"Please be careful, son." Simon pleaded with Cloud.

"Don't worry about me, just worry about the kid." Cloud hit the ignition on Fenrir and the bike roared to life. He pulled up the coordinates for where he suspected Lesten's hideout would be and twisted the throttle, taking off down the dirt road at a quick speed. He wanted to make this quick. The sooner he took care of Lesten, the better. Tifa and the kids, they were waiting for him. He wanted to get home to them as soon as possible. He wanted to help Denzel, and he was constantly against the clock. Despite Denzel being in relatively good health apart from the episodes and fatigue, the boy was running out of time. Slowly but surely, the Geostigma was taking its toll on the boy's body.

* * *

Can I just say, I loved having Tifa yell some sense into Denzel. I was really excited how it just unfolded as I wrote it. She talks to Denzel like he's an adult, not like he's a kid. I'm glad they have that understanding now.

Did you guys like it? Let me know what you thought about it! I'm all ears!

Seriously though, you guys are awesome. I just hit 5,000 views total before posting this chapter and I just had this stupid grin on my face. I mean, 5,000 people have read something I've written. Last year, the idea of 5,000 people reading something I read would have terrified me. Granted, there is some anonymity to FanFiction, but hey, it's a small step for me to be more comfortable with people reading my writing.

Anyway, let me know what you think! And thank you!

-Teni


	20. Update:Chapter 20 Preview

**Hey guys, it's Teni.**

So yeah...it's been awhile. Almost a year exactly. I'm sorry I left you all hanging like that. I hate it when writers leave a story unfinished on here, and there I go doing the exact same thing, and right before a major combat scene! I'm sorry about that. It wasn't my intention.

Honestly, I had so much trouble trying to figure out how to write that combat scene between Cloud and Lesten's gang. Writing those types of sections are where I really struggle. And that combined with some things going on in my day-to-day life kinda forced me to put some stuff on the back burner. Not getting into too much detail, I was working my butt off in college courses and holding down multiple jobs, and then there were family hardships that came first above everything else that I had to be focused and present for. I just had to cut some stuff out for awhile, you know?

But then the other day, I found myself glancing through my drafts for this story and reading all the wonderful reviews you all wrote and I thought, _I can't do this to you guys anymore. It's not fair to leave this unfinished._ So I started writing this again. Courses are winding down anyway because, guess what, I'm graduating! Bam! That crazy part of my life is about to be done and over with. I'm hoping this fact means that I'll have a lot more time to get back to my passions, like writing.

I'm not promising these updates are going to come out quickly, but I just wanted to let you guys know that this story has drifted back into the inspirational and imaginative thoughts, which is great. I'm stills struggling with hashing out this combat scene, and I don't know how it's going to turn out, but if you guys have ANY ideas or suggestions, I would REALLY appreciate it. If anything, I can at least use your suggestions to craft something worth posting, anyway.

The next few weeks are going to be filled with big and fast changes as I transition to the next chapter of my life, so I don't know how fast this next chapter is going to come out. For now, I'm going to leave you with just a little blurb of where I'm heading with it. If this little section gives you ideas or thoughts on how you want this battle to turn out, LET ME KNOW!

* * *

The sun was burning in the sky at its midday height. The summer days were at their warmest now. Wearing all black probably wasn't the most practical thing for Cloud to be wearing, but these were the clothes he usually wore on deliveries. He wasn't afraid to get them dirty or ripped. They were durable, and he liked them that way, even if it meant baking in them when he was driving out in the full sun.

Cloud wiped the sweat from his brown as he sped across the wasteland that stretched ahead of him. According to his navigation, Cloud was close to Lesten's hideout. He was just a few miles out. He had debated whether or not to stop short of the abandoned settlement and leave Fenrir somewhere behind so he could enter the settlement unannounced. If Cloud could see the dust kicked up from their bikes as they left, then Lesten's gang would surely notice the dust flying up from his bike. However, remembering Teryn and how he almost died made Cloud throw caution to the wind. He didn't have the patience for stealth and subtleties anymore. Lesten was dangerous and needed to be dealt with.

The settlement came within sight and Cloud sped towards it. He didn't see any movement from within the half-demolished houses and caved in buildings. He didn't see any signs of the bikes either. As Cloud entered the settlement, he slowed down on Fenrir. He stopped in the middle of the square at the center of the small town and shifted his eyes around, searching for any sign of Lesten and his gang.

It only took a few seconds for Cloud to spot several bikes hidden under a dusty tarp that shifted with the wind. He recognized the bikes from Featherstone and knew they belonged to some of the men in Lesten's group. He knew they were here.

"Well if it isn't the blondie!" A familiar voice rang out, and Lesten stepped out from one of the broken-down buildings, though this one was arguably in the best condition. "Come to join our ranks?"

Cloud turned off Fenrir and dismounted, not raising his hand for his sword. Several more men came out behind Lesten and from other buildings surrounding the square. None of them wielded weapons in their hands, but their holsters weren't empty. Some of the men placed a hand on the butt of their guns while they walked out.

Cloud's eyes moved back to Lesten, who was standing a few feet away from him with several men flanking him. Cloud didn't reply to Lesten's question and only stood there.

"Or maybe you've just come to donate your bike to the cause?" and Lesten eyed Fenrir.

Again, Cloud said nothing and only stood there.

"No?" Lesten questioned. "Well if you aren't coming to join us, or give up that gorgeous machine you've got there, then you must be fixing to do something pretty foolish, huh?"

Silently, Cloud raised his hand to his sword and detached it from its seat on his back. He slowly brought it down still keeping it in just the one hand.

Lesten eyed the sword, then shook his head sighing with a smile. "This is about Hardy's boy, isn't it?"

Cloud was silent.

"Look, it's not like I was planning on shooting the kid," Lesten shrugged. "But he should've listened to his old man and stayed out of it."

Cloud raised his sword, wielding it in both hands now and Lesten's men grabbed their guns, raising them to aim at Cloud. "You should have listened and left when I told you to."

"You know what I think blondie?" Lesten walked closer, unfazed by the sword. "I think you're in way over your head. Now, I like you. So, I'm gunna let you walk out of here back to wherever you came from." Lesten stopped in front of Cloud, just out of reach of his sword. "But your bike is gunna have to stay." As Lesten had moved, the rest of his gang had slowly closed in as well until they were no more than ten feet from Cloud surrounding him on all sides. Cloud said nothing in return to Lesten, but the way his eyes glared, Lesten knew this was Cloud's refusal.

"Come on now, Cloud." Lesten smiled as he used the ex-SOLDIER's name for the first time. "Your bike is already responsible for one kid getting hurt. Is it really worth your life? Cuz that's what we're talking about here."

Cloud smirked. "You should be asking yourself that question."

Lesten sighed. "We'll see who's right in the end," and Lesten's eyes went to someone behind Cloud.

* * *

Thank you to everyone who's stuck with me the last year, and thank you for your patience. Thanks to you guys who didn't give up on me or on this story. Keep reviewing, because your words of encouragement are going to be the fuel to get me through the next few difficult chapters. Thanks guys. You're the best.

-Teni


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